


Two Promises

by FlyingUnhindered



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Asriel doesn't want to be saved, Chara is in Frisk's head, Female Chara (Undertale), Female Frisk (Undertale), Frisk Resets, Frisk and Chara want to save Asriel, Gen, Memories, More resets, Not true reset, Promises, Tears, Undertale True Reset, What if Toriel came with Frisk, What if the electric maze actually electrocuted you
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:21:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22217698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingUnhindered/pseuds/FlyingUnhindered
Summary: To say that Frisk and Chara don't like the idea of leaving the Underground without Asriel would be an understatement.So they don't.It just takes a lot longer than either of them expected or wanted.
Relationships: Frisk & Chara, Frisk (Undertale) & Everyone
Comments: 8
Kudos: 51
Collections: Fanfiction From The Chara Defense Squad





	1. The First Time

**Author's Note:**

> This story is subject to change and owes credit to other stories/authors.
> 
> The first credit owed is to the song [Asriel Must Be Saved](https://albion.bandcamp.com/track/asriel-must-be-saved). Some of the lyrics in the last stanza sparked the mustard seed that grew into this story, and the tree hasn't stopped growing yet.  
> Other stories/writers whose works influenced (or may have influenced) this are:
> 
>   * [Ononymus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ononymous/pseuds/Ononymous)
>   * [How to Save a Soul](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10630479/chapters/23516214) by [TheArchimage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArchimage)
>   * [Patchwork Soul](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20080444) by [TakaiWolf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakaiWolf/pseuds/TakaiWolf)
>   * [One by One](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4942816/chapters/11345293),
>   * [Truant](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7413970/chapters/16840510), and
>   * [Day to Day](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6128647/chapters/14045320), all by [CourierNew](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourierNew). 
> 


Frisk woke to the sound of a worried, motherly goat asking her to wake up.

How long have we been out? Chara wondered. Ever since Frisk had fallen into the Underground, Chara had been in her head, as though stuck there by an invisible chain. Frisk hadn’t known about her at first, but once Chara had made herself known and they had started talking, they had become reasonably good friends in the short time they had been together.

_I have no idea._

Frisk stood, mildly surprised to find herself at full health. The last thing she remembered was seeing Asriel break the barrier, explain that he couldn’t stay, and leave. Then she had fallen to the ground, unconscious, mainly from the pain that had resulted from Asriel’s final - and strongest - attack.

Toriel and five other monsters stood in a semicircle around Frisk. When they saw her on her feet, they all began to talk, but she was too distracted to catch anything but Toriel’s suggestion that she take a walk. Frisk nodded and walked out of the room.

Ree said he wouldn’t be himself for much longer. Do you think he will have turned back by the time we find him? Chara’s voice had a hint of worry to it.

_I hope not._

By the time they had reached the Core, she had stopped acting like she wasn’t worried.

He won’t leave with us. He needs a soul to stay himself. But I can’t leave him. What if I can’t persuade him that we want to be with him whether he’s a flower or not?

Frisk didn’t answer.

I thought he was gone forever. I thought my stupid plan had killed us.

She took the elevator to the bottom of the Core, followed by the Hotlands elevator, and finally the boat to Snowdin in quick succession.

Where are you going? inquired Chara.

 _To where I - you - fell down,_ Frisk explained. _I can’t think of any other place offhand where he would be. If you have a better idea-_

Chara cut her off. No, you’re probably right.

Frisk walked briskly through the snow, waving at the monsters she passed as she hurried deeper into the cavern. Her muscles were somewhat sore from the long, strenuous fight with Asriel, but she pressed on. Not much farther now.

Chara helped Frisk whenever she hesitated in the purplish Ruins. As Frisk hastened through them, she talked with Chara.

_What will I say to him?_

Ask him to come with us. Tell him that everyone misses him terribly.

_And if he refuses…? You said he could be stubborn when he wanted to be._

There has to be a way, Chara insisted, There _has_ to be.

Frisk hoped so.

Five minutes later, they had reached the very back of the cavern.

You were right, Chara remarked, He’s here.

Asriel had been sitting in the golden flowers, but he rose when he saw Frisk approach. “Don’t worry about me,” he pleaded, trying to think of a good excuse. “Someone has to take care of these flowers.”

She started talking, but he cut her off. “Frisk, please leave me alone.”

“No, Asriel, I can’t,” Frisk answered. “You don’t understand. Everyone misses you so much! Even if you came back as Flowey, I’m sure Toriel and Asgore would love to see you!”

His eyes started to water, and he rubbed at them furiously. “I d-don’t want to break their hearts all over again,” he answered. “It’s better if they never see me.”

“Haven’t you been listening?” she chided, “If they knew you were still alive in _any_ form, they would do anything to have you with them. Even if you can’t love them, they still love you.”

He turned away, wiping his eyes. “I really don’t have that much time left, Frisk. I might be a flower even before you leave the Underground. Please don’t stay.” He hung his head. “I can’t bear to see them again.”

Chara who had, of course, been listening the whole time, couldn’t take it any longer. Without realizing what she was doing, she grabbed control of Frisk’s mouth and started talking.

“Ree, please!” Asriel froze at the sound of his nickname, but she didn’t notice. “I can’t lose you again! I’ll never be able to be happy, knowing that you are down here! I’ll never forget you here, sitting where I fell. You’re not going to be happy, either. Right now you’re scared because you don’t want to lose yourself, and-” She took a breath, her voice starting to hitch as she spoke. “I c-can’t go through this again. It’s m-my fault you’re down here. _I_ should be the one down here, condemned to a half-life while you enjoy the Surface with your family. This all happened because of me, and I don’t know if I can even l-live with knowing what my stupid plans cost you.”

When she stopped, Chara realized that Asriel was still frozen in shock. She also became aware of the fact that tears were dripping off her chin, but she made no move to dry her face. 

Asriel slowly turned around and lifted his head to look at Frisk. “Chara? You’re…?”

Frisk nodded. “She’s been in my head since I fell down.”

Fresh tears sprang to his eyes. “I’m s-sorry, Chara. I’m- I-” He closed his eyes. “I miss you, too, but- but it wouldn’t be right for you to stay down here with me and frankly… I’ve had enough of the Surface, I think. I can’t go out as a flower, and there’s no way I can be” - he gestured to his furry body - “be me again.” Asriel tried - and failed - to put on a brave face for Chara. “It’s really not that bad down here when you get used to it. A little boring, maybe, but I can live with it. …So don’t worry about me, okay? And hey, maybe it won’t make you feel much better, but I think you have a half-life, too, knowing that I’m not going to the Surface.”

 _I don’t think it’s going to work,_ Frisk told Chara.

No… No. NO!

Frisk barely restrained her mouth from releasing Chara’s yell. 

_Chara, maybe- maybe we’ll find a way to save him when we go to the Surface,_ Frisk reasoned with her _. Maybe we just need to leave and come back in a few days and see if he’s changed his mind._

Chara seemed to be admitting defeat. You’re right. He’s really stubborn. Guess I should have realized after being with him for so long. He really won’t listen. But on the Surface…

_On the Surface there might be ways to save him, right? It could take a while, but we’ll do it eventually._

Asriel seemed to realize that Frisk - and Chara - weren’t going to push the point anymore. “Frisk… be careful on the Surface, okay?” She nodded. “It’s not really as nice as it is here. But… don’t kill, and don’t be killed, right? That’s the best you can strive for.”

Frisk nodded again, fighting back the tears that threatened to overwhelm her. She turned away. 

“Well, see you, Frisk. And Chara.”

“Goodbye, Asriel.”

Chara added her own farewell to Frisk’s. “Goodbye, Ree.”

They felt Asriel’s eyes linger on Frisk, watching them go. She turned just enough for one eye to catch his for a split second. She couldn’t see much in that moment, but one thing stuck with her: He was crying. He didn’t want them to leave, but he didn’t want to go with them.

Frisk would have stayed if she hadn’t promised to take care of Toriel and Asgore for him. She would have called Toriel right then and there to tell her that she wasn’t going to leave the Underground and please don’t ask questions… But when you make promises, you have to keep them. Sans had said that in the MTT Resort, and he had kept a promise to Toriel before he even knew her name. Keeping Asriel’s promise was the least Frisk could do for him.

She walked back to the Capital slowly, pausing to talk to monsters and hoping that by the time she returned to her friends, she wouldn’t be crying or sad. It would just look like she had taken the suggested walk and had finished it.

As she drew near to the edge of Waterfall, she hesitated and turned around. She walked back toward the cheery town that had probably never been more cheery than it was today. Frisk ambled around the side of the skeletons’ house and entered Sans’ workshop - she had unlocked the door before going to see Asgore - and peered at the machine in the corner. She couldn’t see enough of it to get a good idea of what it was - or if it could help Asriel in its condition - so she opened the drawers to look for a - working - flashlight. She couldn’t remember if there had been one or not.

Nothing. But in one of the drawers, there was something new. There was a picture of hm with all her friends. She had no idea when or where it had been taken, or how Sans had already put it into the drawer, though that part wasn’t quite as strange, but then again, Sans was always something of a mystery. But he seemed happy in the picture.

Frisk stepped into the room between the Throne Room and barrier cavern and saw her friends waiting expectantly. She nodded to them, answering the unasked question. “I’m ready. Let’s go.” She wasn’t ready. She didn’t want to go. But what else was there to do? What down here could save Asriel?

But the question in Chara’s mind was, What up there could save Asriel if nothing here could?

She couldn’t decide who was the most happy to see the Surface: Asgore was extremely thankful to be out of the Underground without having to destroy humanity. Toriel, too, was glad to see the land she had never expected to see again. Sans was Sans. He didn’t always show that much emotion, but his smile was wider than usual. Papyrus waved exuberantly at the Sun. Alphys, in her own way, was nervously happy. Undyne was grinning so wide it seemed that her mouth stretched beyond her ears.

Frisk was the only one who wasn’t happy, but the others were too wrapped up in the joy of the Surface to realize that their human friend was not genuinely joyful. She, too, was distracted, but not by the Surface. She had been born and lived her whole life there, except for the few days - a couple weeks at the most - spent where people only knew about the Sun because of waterlogged textbooks or because an old turtle told of it in his tales.

Toriel had to call her name three times before it registered with Frisk that someone was speaking to her. She looked around for the others, only vaguely remembering that they had left to go down the mountain already.

“Sorry, what?” she asked.

“I was wondering what you will do now, my child,” Toriel answered. “Do you have parents to return to, or perhaps a guardian?”

Frisk was quite certain that her parents were still alive. “I do have parents, but… maybe I could stay with you for a little while, until you’re settled.”

Toriel nodded approvingly. “I quite like that arrangement, Frisk. The Sun has nearly set. Are you ready to leave?”

“Well, I, um, want to stay up here a little longer. Um, go on ahead. I’ll catch up with you in a minute.”

Toriel agreed, saying that she would wait for Frisk part way down the path and that Frisk could come when she was ready.

Why did you want to stay up here? Chara asked when they were alone. It was obvious to her that Frisk was thinking about something that she wanted to talk about in private.

 _…I have an idea,_ Frisk admitted with a little reluctance. _I don’t know if it will work, but maybe… maybe we can find a way to save Asriel._

Chara was fully attentive now. What is it?

 _You know how I can save and load?_ Chara affirmed that she knew this, for she had had the same power when she had been alive. _Well, there’s one other thing I can do; maybe you could when you had a body. I haven’t done it before, but I think it would work if I tried. It’s called “reset.” I’ll return, not to my previous save point, but to where Asriel is, where I first fell down. It’s like a stronger version of a load. I don’t think anyone will remember anything of what has happened if I reset._

It didn’t take long for Chara to decide. Let’s do it. I think it’s our best chance. We might learn something new, and maybe we can convince Ree to come with us, flower or no flower.

Frisk nodded. _Okay. Here goes._ She took a deep breath and summoned all her determination to turn time back. Time splintered and shattered into space. In a moment, it had sewn back together, only it was a few days earlier than it had been a second before.

* * *

She was winded, her body bruised in more places than she could count, but that was the extent of her injuries. The golden flowers underneath her must have broken her fall.

It worked.

Frisk stood and stretched, testing her limbs just to be sure that everything was in working order.

_Yeah, it did._

She started walking. This time it was no surprise to see a golden flower, a different kind of flower than the ones that she had fallen on, standing in her way. It was short enough that she could easily step or jump over it - or even just walk around it - but the smile on its face indicated that it was more intelligent than it might have first appeared. It watched her carefully, smiling a very artificial-looking smile.

“Howdy!” it began, giving no indication that it remembered ever seeing Frisk, “I’m Flowey. Flowey the Flower!”

Frisk stood before him, calmly listening to his short speech again. When he began “sharing” his “friendliness pellets” with her, she sidestepped them, irritating the unsuspecting flower. He tried to convince her to catch them again, but she didn’t.

“Is this a joke?” Flowey nearly screamed. “Are you braindead? RUN. INTO. MY. BULLETS!!” Frisk looked at him with a “Really? That’s the best you can do?” look. 

Any pretenses of being nice that Flowey still held vanished, and a ring of small, white, pellet-like bullets appeared around Frisk. They were too low to duck under and too high to jump over. Flowey laughed maniacally. “Die,” he ordered.

 _What would happen if I died now?_ She wondered, _I haven’t saved yet. Would I go back to my save after fighting Asriel?_ The bullets began to close in around her.

A ring of fireballs destroyed the ring that had meant Frisk’s certain death a moment before.

I don’t think we’re ever going to know, Chara answered. I’m guessing Toriel will always intervene in time.

Toriel talked excitedly, perhaps too excitedly, saying everything she had said the last time about switches and puzzles. Frisk obediently talked to the Dummy, knowing full well that it would annoy the Mad Dummy in Waterfall. She struck up a friendly conversation with an attacking Froggit, whom Toriel soon shamed into leaving. Remembering how the bridge with the spikes worked, Frisk asked Toriel about it.

“Can I try it myself?”

Toriel hesitated. “This puzzle seems quite dangerous, my child.”

“I think I know how it works. The sign said it had the mirror blueprint of the other room.”

“Well… Alright, but be very careful, dear.”

Frisk walked onto the bridge with a little caution, more for Toriel’s sake than Frisk’s own, but it was not necessary. She knew exactly where to walk.

Toriel was impressed. In the next room she said, “I had originally planned to test your independence here, but it seems that you are quite independent. Still, I must ask a favor of you. I have to do a few errands, and I need you to stay here and wait until I return. I will give you a cell phone so you can call me if you need anything.”

Frisk accepted the cell phone. “Can I go with you? Please? Maybe I can help you on your errands,” she suggested.

Toriel weighed her words and finally nodded. “Perhaps it would not be wise to leave you here on your own for so long.”

Frisk beamed. “Where are we going?”

“We are going to the city. I need to do some shopping,” it was gently explained. “I need some groceries, as I did not plan on having company so soon.”

“Is there a library there?”

“It is not very large, but yes, there is a library there. Would you like to read while I do my errands?”

“Yeah, if that’s okay with you,” Frisk said. _Maybe there will be a book on souls,_ she told Chara.

Even if there isn’t I can tell you what I know about them. I learned a bit from Gaster.

_Anything you can tell me will help._

Toriel dropped Frisk off at the library after learning that she preferred butterscotch over cinnamon. It was a very small library, even smaller than the Snowdin Librarby. Frisk walked up to the front desk.

“Croak. How may I help you?” asked the large Froggit behind the desk. He, like the other monsters, didn’t seem to realize that she was human.

“Um… Is there anything here about souls here?” she responded.

He nodded, indicating that the wished-for material was on the left-most shelf.

“Thanks.” Frisk moved towards the books.

“Croak. Of course. Ask me if you have any other questions. Ribbit.”

Frisk assured him that she would and scanned the books on the shelf in front of her: _What Happens When a Monster Dies?_ and _Human Soul vs. Monster Soul_ and _Souls: Their Powers and Weaknesses_ , among others. She pulled a couple of the books off the shelf and sat down in a conveniently-placed chair. First, she flipped open _Human Soul vs. Monster Soul_.

“There are two kinds of souls,” it began, “human souls and monster souls. A human’s soul is much stronger than a monster soul and more powerful in almost every way. In fact, a human soul is so powerful that it would take all the monster souls in the entire Underground to equal the power of a single human soul…”

The information was good information, but it wasn’t what she was looking for.

 _What Happens When a Monster Dies?_ This book looked to be more for little children, but Frisk opened it nevertheless.

“It is easy to tell when a flower dies, for its pretty head droops and wilts.” The pages were interspersed with pictures relating to the words written on the pages. “It will not smell nice anymore, or put out new leaves. In one sense, it is just as easy to tell when a monster dies. Death is often preceded by the monster falling down, in which they no longer become responsive or active. When one actually dies, however, his body scatters into dust, which his family members will collect for his funeral.

But unlike flowers and pretty plants, a monster has a soul. It is the culmination of his being. Without a soul, a monster cannot feel love. When a monster dies, his soul shatters and disappears before it can be seen or absorbed. The only exception is a boss monster’s soul. His soul will last a few seconds after death before shattering. All monster souls are weak, just like monster bodies…” Frisk sighed and looked away from the book.

 _We aren’t really learning anything,_ she pointed out.

Yeah.

_Should I keep reading?_

I doubt we’ll find anything new relating to what we want to learn. It’s a very small library, anyway. Probably Alphys or the Librarby will have more information. So no, if you’re tired of reading about souls, I don’t mind if you choose something else to read. There might be some snail books.

Frisk put the books back on the shelf and turned in time to see the door open and Toriel walk in.

“Are you ready to go, my child?” she asked, coming to stand by her. Frisk nodded and took her hand. As they walked out of the library, the Froggit at the front desk waved goodbye. Frisk smiled and waved back.

“What were you reading about, dear?”

She shrugged. “Monster and human souls.”

Toriel raised her eyebrows. “Oh? Why did you want to learn about souls?”

Frisk scrambled for a plausible answer that wasn’t a lie. “I… I know some stuff about souls, and I was wondering if-” _if there was a way to give Asriel a soul,_ she thought. Outloud she continued, “what would happen if someone had deter- the will to live but not a soul. And if there would be a way to give him a soul again. Because if your soul is the culmination of your being, without it you wouldn’t- I don’t think you would be able to feel some things, like love.” _And I want to give Asriel the ability to love again._ Frisk bit her lip and looked away, thinking about why she was still here and not on the Surface, why she had destroyed everyone’s freedom more effectively than the barrier, why she had erased the happy ending she had worked so hard to attain.

Toriel interpreted Frisk’s face to mean that she felt that she had spoken too much, and she hastened to reassure the girl. “Forgive me, my child. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, it’s fine,” Frisk answered. “I was just… thinking.”

“Alright.”

Toriel did not have any helpful advice or information, but she did have pie ingredients. Frisk took a suggested nap, more in preparation for the fight that would soon occur than anything. She wanted all the energy she could get, for this was her least favorite fight in all of the Underground.

She woke to the smell of butterscotch-cinnamon pie, a slice of which was on a plate beside her bed. Picking it up, Frisk took a tiny nibble and added it to her supply of food. The other two items she had were a piece of Monster Candy and a Spider Donut, both of which she had gotten on the way through the Ruins.

As she walked into the living room she was greeted by Toriel, who was reading a book. “Oh, up already?” she asked. Frisk nodded and took a deep breath, speaking before Toriel could continue.

“HowdoIleavetheRuins?” she blurted in one breath.

Toriel froze so completely for a moment that she could have been a statue. Frisk thought she saw her shoulders tremble slightly. The boss monster took a deep breath and stood, reading forgotten.

“I have to do something. Stay here,” she answered with more force than usual.

Frisk ran after her as Toriel hurried down the hall. The way Toriel carried herself suggested that she was barely keeping her composure.

Her warnings were useless. But when the fight started, it was only Frisk’s knowledge of the happy - mostly happy - ending she would determinedly attain, provided that it would be the same as before, and Chara’s support that kept Frisk from abandoning the fight.

Eventually, the fight ended. Two hearts - three counting Chara’s - had been broken again, but nobody had died. Frisk hugged Toriel tightly; she would need to remember her in the next steps of her journey. One of the things that kept her going was knowing that she could see Toriel again. It would just take sweat and determination to get there.

When a specific strange flower’s monologue finally finished, Frisk stepped out into the dazzling white of Snowdin. In less than a minute she was talking to a short, squat skeleton who looked like he would mistake a human for a rock. It was only experience that kept Frisk from underestimating him at first glance. She knew of his teleportation powers, and she was sure he had other strange things hidden up his sleeves. Sans was a very secretive skeleton.

In another few minutes, Frisk met Papyrus after watching him confuse her with a rock. When he left, leaving his final “NYEH HEH HEH!!” to hang in the air, she decided she would actually try to get captured this time. It wouldn’t be that bad, and if he accidentally killed her she wouldn’t lose much.

Sans promised to keep an eye, or rather, an eyesocket, as he was a skeleton, out for her. Frisk thanked him and continued on her way. One dog, a snowman, and an Ice Cap later, she met up with the brothers again. When the orb landed on her head, she walked onto the maze and purposely walked off the safe path, despite the fact that Papyrus’ footprints clearly marked it for her.

A jolt of electricity shot through her body, causing her to fall onto the ice, where she was met with more electrical shocks until the orb rolled off her head. She shrieked in pain. Papyrus ran onto the ice, heedless of the electrical quality of the puzzle, for the orb was not touching him or the human.

“NYEH HEH HEH!! I DIDN’T EVEN NEED THE OTHER PUZZLES!”

He scooped a half-conscious Frisk up and started moving towards the town, chattering endlessly to Sans about the prestige he was about to gain. Sans patiently listened to it all, shooting Frisk a curious look.

Chara’s incredulous voice cut through the pain. What was that for? She asked.

Frisk let out a small moan. _I wanted to let him capture me. It probably won’t change much._

Well you didn’t have to get captured by being half-electrocuted!

_Yeah, whatever._

Chara sighed. I hope he heals you before you go to the capital or wherever we’re going.

Frisk passed out from the pain, and when she woke, she was at full health in… Where was she? She rolled off of the dog bed she had been lying on and rose to her feet. After a quick glance around the room, she decided that she was probably not at the Capital. Her room - or cell - was bare, save for a bowl of dry dog food, a squeaky chew toy, the bed, and a note.

Walking over to the note, Frisk picked it up. It was from Papyrus, who explained that she would be locked in the “guestroom” until Undyne came. Unfortunately for Papyrus, he had built the bars of the cell too wide. 

You’re not going to wait for Undyne to come get you, right? Chara queried.

_Nah._

Frisk carefully tore the note into a handful of letters and arranged them to spell a word: LIBRARBY.

What…?

_The Librarby might have helpful information about souls._

But telling him you’re going there?

_Why not?_ Frisk retorted.

Chara sighed.


	2. Trying Again

Frisk walked right between the bars and out into the snowy town. She saved. A minute later, she was back indoors, only this time she was in the Librarby. Technically it was the Library, but the sign was misspelled and read “Librarby.” So she always thought of it as the Librarby.

Like at the Library in Home, she walked up to the front desk. “Do you have anything about souls here?” she questioned.

The monster nodded. “Yes, we have a few books.”

Frisk found the books and began flipping through one to see if there was anything of use in it. Behind her, the door crashed open and nearly flew off of its hinges. Both she and Chara were quite certain who it was before she turned to see an armored fish carrying a spear. 

“You can’t escape me, human.”

The other monsters in the Librarby gave a collective shocked gasp, but neither Frisk nor Undyne seemed to notice, and if they did, they didn’t care.

She’s got you cornered! Chara cried.

No more warning was given as the spear flew towards Frisk, companion spears materializing and following the first.

She dodged left and right, forgetting anything except Undyne and the spears. She flattened herself against the left wall, barely avoiding a trio of spears, which hurled past her and buried themselves into books or beams in the wall. Another group sped towards her, and she dropped to the floor. They sailed past her and into the wall, severing one of the support beams for the Librarby. Without warning, the ceiling swayed and began breaking, followed by the whole building. As plaster and heavy beams crashed onto Frisk, even as her soul began to crack, she refused to let it be the end.

Frisk was back in the snowy town. 

Don’t go into the Librarby! You’ll die again!

_I told Papyrus that’s where I was going. I’m not going back on my word._

Chara huffed but found it useless to argue. Frisk walked into the Librarby and started looking at the books she had begun to look at before Undyne had charged in last time. Behind her, the door crashed open and nearly flew off of its hinges. Both she and Chara knew exactly who it was before she turned to see an armored fish carrying a spear. 

“You can’t escape me, human.”

The other monsters in the Librarby gave a collective shocked gasp, but neither Frisk nor Undyne seemed to notice, and if they did, they didn’t care.

“Wait, Undyne!” Frisk cried, “We can’t fight in the Librarby!”

“Then get out,” Undyne ordered.

What if she kills you as you pass her to leave?

Frisk thought quickly. “Alright, b-but promise me on your honor as Head of the Royal Guard that you’ll give me a chance!” she begged.

“Fine,” Undyne muttered.

With this assurance, Frisk darted out of the building and into an open space where she could dodge.

“We can’t really fight here, either,” she pointed out to Undyne. “There are too many monsters who could get hurt!”

Undyne reluctantly grunted agreement. She pointed in the direction of Waterfall. “Go that way. There are better places to fight there than there are here.”

Of course she would suggest that. She knew Waterfall like the back of her spear. But that was okay. Frisk knew Waterfall pretty well, too, and even if she didn’t know it like Undyne did, her knowledge of Undyne’s attacks would probably help to make up for it.

Frisk started walking, in no hurry to leave the town. Undyne followed the girl closely, her large, heavy boots making a much larger impression in the snow than Frisk’s small, light feet.

She stopped just outside the town in a heavy fog.

“Keep moving,” Undyne growled.

I bet she would much rather fight in Waterfall than here in the freezing snow, Chara pointed out. It’s warmer. Besides, it’s her home. Didn’t Papyrus say last time that she patrols all of Waterfall alone?

_Yeah,_ Frisk agreed. _But she doesn’t know that I’ve been to Waterfall because I_ technically _haven’t yet. Not in this timeline, anyway._

Just beyond the cold, snowy fog that marked the division between Snowdin and Waterfall, she heard a ping. Her soul was green. She turned around in time to catch the shield tossed to her. This was more like the fight she remembered, though it was a little different. Frisk guessed that under her helmet, Undyne was probably grinning menacingly, narrowing her only eye in anticipation and concentration.

“For years we’ve dreamed of a happy ending,” she said as the first few spears drifted towards Frisk. “And now sunlight is just within our reach!”

Frisk’s face fell, and she nearly didn’t block one of the easy spears. Undyne had inadvertently reminded her that she had stolen their sunlight for the little hope of saving the soulless flowery prince of monsters.

Chara was remembering it too, but she didn’t talk to Frisk, who had enough on her mind fighting the Head of the Royal Guard.

It was going to be a long fight. Undyne changed Frisk’s soul color more often than last time, but there was a whole lot more of Waterfall to run through this time. Frisk dodged falling rocks as she ran from Undyne. Ping! Green soul again. More spears. Her soul changed color yet again.

She charged at the unsolved bridge seed puzzle and jumped, barely clearing the gap. She stumbled and kept running, not bothering to confirm what her ears were telling her about her fast-approaching pursuer. Frisk jumped the second gap with a little more ease, as the distance was smaller than the previous gap. As she landed, the red glow on her chest turned green. Undyne stood on the other side of the water, her face showing annoyance – and determination.

“You’ve escaped from me for the last time!” she announced. Ten minutes later, she was in hot pursuit of Frisk once again. Frisk wondered how long it would take for her to tire. After all, she was the one running at top speed while wearing a full 100-pound suit of armor.

Hey, Chara said during a lull in the fighting, The ferry is right around the corner. If he’s there you could save a lot of time.

_Thanks. I’d forgotten,_ Frisk hurriedly replied, concentrating on the fast bullets flying towards her. So far she had only missed a spear or two, but the speed and complexity of the attacks were constantly intensifying. Fortunately, Undyne always started them a little slower after a chase.

Frisk didn’t miss when the glow on her chest returned to its normal color. She gripped her shield tightly and took off in an all-out sprint.

An enraged voice yelled after her. “Come back here, you little brat!” She did not obey.

Chara had remembered correctly. The ferry’s dock was just around the corner, and he floated in the water. Frisk chanced a glance behind her shoulder. Undyne was coming a little slower than usual. She would have just enough time.

Frisk practically jumped onto the ferry. She looked back to see Undyne nearing the edge of the bridge, glowering at her prey. Then, with a sploosh, Frisk and the ferry were underwater. She had learned to not scream while this happened. A moment later, they broke the surface beside a large patch of sea-grass.

She hopped off, received her 3G, and thanked the ferry.

Go to Gerson’s shop, Chara suggested. The Sea Teas he sells increase your speed, so you’ll have even more of an advantage, at least when you’re running. I think they’re 25G each, so you can prepare your payment already.

Frisk followed the suggestion and counted out enough money for 2 Sea Teas and transferred the G to another pocket. She started towards Gerson’s shop. She saved first and ran towards another gap, jumping it to land beside a small bird. One more short sprint and she was standing in Gerson’s shop.

“Wahaha!” he greeted her. “I’ve got some neat junk for sale.”

“Yeah, can I have two Sea Teas, please?” Frisk asked, bouncing on her toes, ear cocked for any heavy footsteps coming her way.

“Comin’ right up!” She took them and paid him, not forgetting to thank him. She downed one right then and there, as her legs were starting to feel heavy from so much activity.

Outside the shop, Frisk encountered one of the local Woshuas. “U sweaty,” it declared.

“Yeah, could you clean me?” she asked it.

“Clean u face,” it chanted happily.

“Thanks, Wosh,” she said, moving to catch only the green water bullets as they rained down. Satisfied, the monster trundled off.

She looked around and found no one in her range of vision. Undyne must not have reached here yet, or perhaps she had passed by to reach the place they had fought at last time. Frisk figured that was more likely, but nonetheless she stayed on full alert. She couldn’t let her guard down when the Head of the Royal Guard was around.

She reached the Temmie Village without incident and sold them a few items she had picked up along the way. The shopkeeper bought them eagerly, even offering more G for the Toy Knife than what Frisk had asked for.

The rest of Frisk’s trip through Waterfall passed pretty normally. The monster kid jumped out of tall grass to “help Undyne fight,” not realizing that the bad guy she was going to beat up was the kid beside him, who was also a human.

A few minutes later, Frisk saved him from a potentially terrible or even fatal fall, and he repaid her by defending her from Undyne. Of course, he went home after that, so she had to face Undyne alone. Just before she stepped forward, she drank her remaining Sea Tea, invigorated by the boost of energy it gave her.

It was the same thing as last time. Spears and running.

Undyne was noticeably slower than usual, owing to her long chase of Frisk, while Frisk was as fast as ever, owing to Gerson’s Sea Teas. And so she only had to run away twice to reach Hotland. 

She took a little break after the cooking lesson with Undyne before tackling Hotland, namely Mettaton’s quiz show. Although it would not be hard, Frisk, with or without Sea Teas, was a bit tired from racing through a good deal of Waterfall with the Head of the Royal Guard at her heels.

The quiz show passed without incident. Frisk didn’t feel like answering the question of who Alphys’ crush was, so she simply shrugged her shoulders and listened to Mettaton talk about her apparently correct answer.

Unbidden, Alphys upgraded Frisk’s phone and added her to the Undernet. Frisk thanked her. The upgrade really made it an invaluable phone in multiple ways.

“Before I go,” Frisk said, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Y-yeah! Of course!”

“Thanks. Um, what do you know about souls?”

Alphys became slightly more nervous. “Uh, w-well, I know… I know a lot! W-what exactly do you want to know?”

Frisk responded with essentially the same words she had answered Toriel. “I know some stuff about souls, and I was wondering what would happen if someone had deter- the- determination but not a soul. And if there would be a way to give him a soul again. Because if your soul is the culmination of your being, without it you wouldn’t- I mean I don’t think you would be able to feel some things, like love.”

Alphys sucked her breath in, almost certainly thinking about the same tiny flower Frisk was thinking of. “Oh, I- I, um, I d-don’t know. I-I’ve actually run an experiment on a flower and gave it determination, b-but nothing much happened.”

Frisk nodded understandingly. “Alright, but what if it did change something… you just didn’t notice? So if there was a soulless being, like that flower, and it could feel emotions and stuff, just not love, would there be a way to give it a soul? Or even a part of one?”

The Royal Scientist frowned, thinking. “I d-don’t think you could break a soul into two parts and have it not shatter. P-plus, the owner of the soul m-might not survive b-because he or she would have a lot l-less of the soul than before. And you c-can’t make an artificial soul. S-so no, you probably couldn’t give a soul to a soulless being.”

Frisk thanked her for the information and walked out. Once outside, her shoulders slumped. _Do you know if we’ll find a way to save Asriel?_ She asked Chara.

I don’t know. But if you were determined enough to not die when he was fighting you, then maybe with enough determination we’ll find a way to save Asriel.

_Maybe._

After that, nothing much changed. She lasted out the final fight with Mettaton until he ran out of battery power. She watched Flowey kill Asgore, despite the fact that he had claimed his plan wasn’t regicide. She looked at the same flower telling her to kill him, and when she refused, he threatened to kill everyone she loved.

And then she was watching the barrier shatter like the previous timeline. Not long after that, Frisk blacked out from the agony of her wounds.

When she woke, at full health, she said hi to everyone and explained there was something she wanted to do before leaving. Then she dashed off before anyone could respond.

Going to see Asriel again?

_Yeah. I don’t think he’ll listen any more than last time, but maybe if I can reset_ with _him - holding onto him - then he’ll stay Asriel. It’s a silly idea, but the least I can do is try._

Chara approved of the idea. She would probably approve of any idea that held any hope of saving Asriel.

After a run that Undyne would have been proud of, Frisk was almost there. Her sides heaving, she took a deep breath and sprinted under an archway and down a long hall. Asriel turned to look at her, confusion on his face as she drew closer without slowing in the least.

“Frisk?”

When she was a few feet away, she slowed somewhat. Once she was close enough, she wrapped her arms around Asriel and squeezed him tightly.

“Stay with me,” she whispered pleadingly, even as she turned the wheels of time back as far as she could.

* * *

She was winded, her body bruised in more places than she could count, but that was the extent of her injuries. The golden flowers underneath her must have broken her fall. Her arms were empty.

_He’s not here,_ Frisk told Chara, despite knowing that Chara could see everything Frisk could. _It didn’t work._ She was more disappointed than she thought she would be. She stood, ignoring her injuries, and walked slowly down the hall that she had just run through, only it had been some days later than it was now. 

“Howdy!”

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts and disappointment that she had totally forgotten about Flowey.

“I’m FLOWEY! FLOWEY the FLOWER!”

She hardly glanced at him, acting bored.

“Why'd you make me introduce myself?”

Frisk looked at him, not faking the surprise on her face. He hadn’t said this on either of the other times. “It's rude to act like you don't know who I am,” Flowey continued, the same cheery smile pasted on his face. “Someone ought to teach you proper manners. I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!” Everything else was the same. Frisk refused to touch the unfriendly bullets, and Flowey angrily tried to kill her. Toriel stopped him.

Toriel’s words were no different than before, but this time Frisk recognized some of the sadness lurking in the darkest corners of her eyes and the very edges of her voice, something that Frisk would not have noticed if this was her first time in the Underground.

The boss monster didn’t seem to think that Frisk had been here before, though one time she mentioned something about feeling like she remembered her.

The Ruins passed in a blur, and soon she was in a cold passageway, a hall as long as or longer than the one she had walked down to prove her independence. It was drafty, and Frisk found herself shivering when the icy air hit her hands and cheeks. Just before the door that would lead out of the Ruins, there stood the same flower.

“I bet you feel really great,” it said, almost scornfully. “You didn't kill anybody this time. But what will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You'll die and you'll die and you'll die. Until you tire of trying…”

And his dialogue was no different than before. Had Frisk imagined that he remembered her? When he reached the end of his speech, “This is _so_ much more interesting,” Frisk decided to ask him something.

“Do you remember me?”

Flowey laughed. “Of _course_! How could I forget you? I know you know how to SAVE and LOAD, so it makes sense that you’d be trying out RESET too.”

“I’m not ‘trying it out,’” Frisk muttered.

“Then what are you doing? You were almost on the Surface and you decided to start over!”

“I was trying to save you. I’m still trying to save you, _Asriel_.”

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!” Flowey screeched. The ground around him roiled with vines lurking just beneath the surface, ready to attack at any further provocation. “He’s dead, and gone, and he’ll stay that way forever! I’m _Flowey_!”

“We’ll see,” Frisk said. “But Chara’s not gone forever, so maybe Asriel isn’t either.”

“Oh yeah? You weren’t there when she died! You didn’t see her face contorted in pain or the blisters on her hands! You didn’t see her soul hovering above her chest once she died! Her soul shattered when mine did!”

“How do you know?”

“The King’s talked about it sometimes - like to Gaster… before he had his little ‘accident.’” Flowey’s smile turned wicked. Frisk shuddered inwardly. “Oh, don’t worry. I wasn’t the reason he fell into the Core. I didn’t even exist then!”

_He just said he remembered everything,_ she thought. _But he doesn’t remember the first time._

“You don’t remember, do you,” she stated matter-of-factly. “I’ve reset more than once, but you only remember once.”

“Really? How strange. But maybe that makes sense. If your desires for this world override mine…” Flowey trailed off and did the equivalent of shrugging his shoulders. “Anyway, see you later… Chara.”

With that, he winked and burrowed into the ground. Frisk had nothing to do but to keep going.

Another minute or two, and she was standing on a bridge, looking at a skeleton express surprise that she had turned around before he had asked her to. He, too, seemed to remember something despite the fact that he did not recognize her.

Papyrus spotted her a little ways from the lamp, exclaiming to Sans how familiar she looked.

“ **uh, i think it looks familiar because it’s a rock,** ” Sans answered.

Papyrus’ shoulders slumped. “OH.”

“ **hey, what’s that in front of the rock?** ”

Papyrus’ eyes widened, and he looked to Sans to Frisk and back again, turning so fast that Frisk could hardly tell where he was looking. After a bit he calmed down enough to warn her of her impending capture.

At the electric maze, Papyrus remarked to Sans, “THAT HUMAN THOUGH, SHE FEELS SO FAMILIAR. DO I KNOW HER?”

“ **do you not know who you know?** ” Sans replied.

“I DO KNOW WHO I KNOW,” Papyrus answered, not looking like he quite believed himself. “I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU KNOW WHO I KNOW.”

Frisk wasn’t following the logic.

Chara begged her, Please don’t electrocute yourself again.

_I won’t,_ she assured Chara. This time she navigated Snowdin normally, meeting the dogs and petting them all. Between dogs, she encountered teenagers and encouraged or helped cheer most of them up. She couldn’t do anything about Jerry.

In the area just after Papyrus’ spaghetti trap, Frisk looked out across the snow. Something felt wrong, somehow, and she didn’t know what. It felt like there was something missing here.

The feeling wouldn’t go away. It wasn’t a feeling of dread, as if something was about to happen, just a feeling that something wasn’t right there.

Making sure that her piece of the snowman was secured safely in the box, Frisk walked away from the cheery town and into a fog, where she could barely make out the outline of a tall skeleton.

Papyrus momentarily forgot that Frisk was human, so caught up was he in trying to figure out why she felt like an old friend.

This time, Frisk’s trip through Waterfall was significantly less hurried. Again, she sold the Temmies the various weapons and armor that she didn’t need anymore, glad to have extra money to buy anything she might need. And again, she found herself wondering what about the place felt wrong to her.

Undyne’s pre-battle speech was significantly different as she talked about thinking that she missed being friends with Frisk, and then yelled at her for controlling her mind. It sounded like she had been watching too much anime.

But it was her words when she began to fight that finally told Frisk what was wrong: She was missing the Sun. She had missed the Sun that would make the snow on the Surface dazzle. In the Snowdin area, it just looked like a dull, monotonous white.

It was the lack of sunlight that had felt wrong in Waterfall. There was only unending rain - not that she disliked rain, but there was no Sun to come out or stop the rain or dry up the puddles.

Of course, Undyne’s words also sent a wave of guilt over Frisk, as she remembered that she had erased all of Undyne’s memories not only of Frisk, but also of the Sun and the feeling of joy and happiness that they had all felt when the barrier had broken and they could look towards the horizon - for there was a horizon to look to - to watch a majestic sunset. Although she had felt it to a lesser degree than her friends, the feeling had been there in Frisk, too. And she missed the things she had always taken for granted on the Surface, especially the Sun.

She moved through the fight almost mechanically, her body and mind pulling from memories of “previous” fights with Undyne, even if the memories were from other timelines. It was a lot easier to survive a fight with Undyne when she already had experience with the exact bullet patterns Undyne used.

And then Hotland. Again, Frisk was acutely aware of the lack of the Sun… and how it seemed to have no effect on the temperature of the area.

When she “first” met Mettaton, he gave no indication whatsoever that he felt any hint of recognition when he saw her. She answered as many questions as she could from memory, but if she was unsure she chose to look to Alphys for help instead of guessing and hoping she got it right. Once or twice, Chara told her the answer when Frisk hesitated.

Overall, Mettaton seemed easier than in the other timelines, again due to Frisk’s knowledge of the boxy robot. She wasn’t in the mood for messing around with him, so she cooperated during his faux murder attempts and acted like she knew nothing. And so Hotland was mostly boring, or at least the same as the first time. Nobody really remembered anything.

Frisk didn’t ask Alphys about getting love for a soulless creature. Last time had been completely unprofitable, and it had made the Royal Scientist much more edgy about, well, everything. Frisk didn’t need to unnecessarily remind her of the flower. Papyrus would inadvertently do that later.

Frisk avoided the monsters in the Core, mostly because she wanted to get this over with. It sounded strange and perhaps silly when she said it, but she was really, really missing the Sun. She wanted to feel it on her back again, even have it in her eyes. She was a Surface-dweller, and it felt oppressive down here without weather.

Mettaton stood on the heart-shaped stage. “OH YES. THERE YOU ARE, DARLING.” Frisk didn’t care right now.

“Hey, there’s something you need to turn around for right now!” She cried, hoping it would be enough to trick him.

It was. Mettaton wheeled around - seeing as his only “leg” ended in a wheel - and looked around, despite not having any obvious eyes.

“REALLY? WHERE?”

Frisk had already stepped forward, about to flip the switch. “Oh, nothing much. Just this cool switch on your back.” She flipped it and stepped before he could react. He froze. When he spoke again, he sounded like he had gained a little more respect for her.

“CLEVER. VERY CLEVER.”

But he hadn’t gained enough respect for Frisk to let her pass with that. Then again, to use Flowey’s words, why would anyone pass up an opportunity to get a human soul? On top of that, it was the first time that his new body had been seen on TV. So why _wouldn’t_ he seize the moment and make an extra-special premiere - and supposed grand finale - by killing Frisk?

He actually did kill Frisk, but it didn’t change much.

Frisk lowered herself into a sitting position just outside of the stage. She was still a little dizzy from all the explosions and chaos that had erupted around her before she’d died. Her eyes, too, needed a moment of rest after all the crazy spotlights and large flashes from the bombs when they exploded.

You okay, Frisk?

Frisk shrugged.

You seem really… rushed this time around. Are you alright?

Frisk shrugged again. _I miss the Sun,_ she admitted. _Sometimes it’s hard being here where the weather is the exact same every minute of every day._

I remember that feeling, Chara sympathized. It was the hardest adjustment for me. It was one of the things I missed the most from the Surface. When I was in Asriel’s body, I was so excited to see the Sun again, but…

She didn’t have to finish her sentence. Frisk already knew the story of her and Asriel’s trip to the Surface. She knew how it ended, too.

_Yeah._

Frisk sat there another minute, and in a sudden moment of inspiration, pulled out the Sea Tea she had forgotten to give someone at the MTT Resort and drank it. Her mind cleared, her body began pumping adrenaline, and she was ready to face Mettaton again.

“OH YES. THERE YOU ARE, DARLING.”

Blah, blah, blah. Frisk ignored his words with a bored expression. “Hey, you should really turn around right now.”

“OH, REALLY?”

She nodded, smiling just a little.

“IF YOU SAY SO, DARLING!”

Without asking for further explanation, Mettaton complied and turned around, exposing his only weakness to her. She moved forward, took advantage of it, and stepped back, waiting.

“CLEVER. VERY CLEVER.”

Within a minute or two, Frisk was dodging with as much flair as she could. It raised the ratings more quickly, and Mettaton looked interested.

This was the fight where Alphys’ phone upgrade was the most invaluable. Without it, she never would have been able to get anywhere close to defeating him.

Even with the help of her Sea Tea, it was close to 45 minutes before she was sitting on the ground beside a limbless body of the only star in the Underground. Together they listened to four monsters call in to tell him how much they enjoyed the show. It was enough to convince him to stay in the Underground for the sake of all the monsters. He had realized that Frisk was strong enough to protect the monsters, and besides, his battery was running out.

Frisk waved goodbye in response to his “KNOCK ‘EM DEAD, DARLING.” She left as Alphys appeared in the doorway, and by the time Alphys recovered from her initial shock of Mettaton’s appearance, Frisk was in the elevator, riding it to New Home. She already knew everything Alphys would have told her, anyway.

“Howdy! How can I- Oh.”

Frisk’s grip on the knife tightened.

“You IDIOT. You haven’t learned a _thing!_ In this world, it’s KILL or BE killed.”

Frisk’s grip on the knife tightened further.

“What are you doing? Do you really think I’ve learned anything from this? No.”

Frisk’s grip on the knife released.

“I can’t understand. I can’t understand! I just can’t understand…”

Flowey ran away.


	3. The Second Promise (It Hurt)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woop, another chapter already. It was at least halfway done when I posted the first two chapters. Yes, the title is correct. And no, you don't know what the "first promise" is yet. This promise is the second promise because it was made after the first.

Frisk sat outside the barrier for a long time, resting. Her legs needed a break. She lay down on the hard dirt and looked up at the stars of midnight. They were beautiful here, where there was no light pollution. She wished she could lie here side by side with Chara and maybe even Asriel, but that would never happen. 

From this side, the barrier was invisible, unlike on the other side. If everything went as usual, it soon wouldn’t exist… and if everything went as usual, she would soon recreate it and all the discouraging circumstances of the Underground for the trapped monsters.

After a while, her phone rang. Frisk pulled it out and listened silently as Sans’ familiar voice began to talk.

“ **heya. is anyone there? well... just calling to say. you made a snowman really happy.** ”

Frisk had taken a piece of the snowman with her, knowing that it would make him happy. She hadn’t been sure she would be able to save Asriel - and she still wasn’t sure about that - but at least she could make one person happy.

Her friends encouraged her to not give up, to try to be happy wherever she was, and said goodbye. The call ended, and silence again reigned over the mountain.

Half an hour later, a different, also familiar voice sounded through the phone, breaking the peaceful silence that had dominated the clearing. “Why…? Why did you let me go?”

No reply was made, but Flowey kept talking anyway, asking if life was really this unfair and suggesting that maybe there was a way to get her a better ending if she visited Dr. Alphys. Frisk half-listened while she stared up at the beautiful sky that couldn’t have just happened by chance.

She must have fallen asleep, for when she blinked again the sky was a little lighter. Her phone was silent, and if she strained her ears, she could barely make out the thrum of the barrier. She didn’t want to descend the mountain. Not when her friends were separated from her and had no way to be reunited with her. Not when the freedom she could enjoy was freedom that had come at the cost of six dead children - which she had had no control over - and the death of the King of Monsters - which she had had control over. Not when she had promised herself...

The next time she was in that place, she was practically basking in the sun with six friends who never remembered seeing it. But they were with her again. No matter how hard or how long she strained her ears, she couldn’t hear the thrum of the barrier. The barrier had broken and was gone forever... in this timeline.

She hadn’t gone back to see Asriel yet. She hadn’t been able to wait to see the sun that she had pined for so badly. She would go back to see him after everyone started down the mountain.

But when she began to backtrack, she had hardly taken ten steps into the barrier cavern before Flowey appeared in front of her. 

This was new. It was the first time she had walked back into the Underground after going onto the Surface, and so she hadn’t known what to expect. Although she hadn’t wasted any time in seeing the Surface, it seemed to have been enough time for Asriel to revert to Flowey again.

“Hi,” he said. “Seems as if everyone is perfectly happy.”

 _Except for me and you,_ Frisk thought. _I’m not happy, and I doubt you are._ She held her tongue, nevertheless. She wanted to hear what he had to say to her.

His smile was worried. “But there’s still one problem, one threat. One being who can erase EVERYTHING.” He looked into her eyes. “You know who I’m talking about, don’t you?”

Frisk nodded. “It’s me. I can still reset.”

“If you choose, you can rip everyone from this timeline and send them back to before any of this ever happened.” Flowey looked away. “Please, Chara, just let Frisk go. Let her be happy and live her life. But… If I can’t convince you to keep this ending, you’ll have to erase my memories, too.” He hesitated and sighed. “I’m sorry. You’ve probably heard this a hundred times, haven’t you? Well, that’s all. See you later, Chara.”

It hurt to see that he was already a flower. It hurt to listen to his words with undisguised pleading in his voice, though he couldn’t feel love anymore. It hurt to know that resetting would go against his wishes. Even more than that, however, it hurt to know that they hadn’t saved him, that he didn’t want to be saved, that he only wanted to be forgotten about. But they refused. It was one thing they could not, would not do.

Her friends weren’t separated from her anymore. Her freedom was the same freedom her friends enjoyed, and it hadn’t come at the cost of the King of Monsters… It had come at the cost of someone else’s happiness and love.

She had still promised herself… And promises were things to keep. So the third timeline was broken beyond repair and a new one began.

The next time, she talked to Asriel for a long time until he asked her to leave so they wouldn’t see him turn into a flower again. When she was alone, on the Surface, she turned back to see him again, not caring that he was a flower now.

“You still have the power to reset everything. If you do, you’ll be able to do whatever you want. That was what I was wanting to do, what you were fighting to stop. ...I don’t think I could do it all again. Not after that.” He looked at Frisk, but she could tell he was trying to look beyond her to Chara. “So please, just let her go,” he implored. “Let her be happy. Let her live her life. But if you won’t… you’ll be erasing my memories, too.”

Frisk nodded sadly.

“Yeah, I figured. You’ve probably heard this a hundred times, haven’t you? Well, I’ll stop bothering you. See you later, Chara.”

It hurt so much to hear him beg, but it hurt so much more to imagine leaving without him. So they didn’t.

* * *

This was the fourth time, now, that she had erased everything and started over, making it the fifth run in total. 

“Howdy! I’m FLOWEY! FLOWEY the FLOWER!”

She already knew that.

“I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins.”

She already knew that, too.

On the fourth run, Frisk had read every book about souls at the library in Home. It had taken her quite a few days, partly because she was staying with Toriel, which meant schooling and other activities would happen everyday. It was also somewhat due to the fact that at least once she had fallen asleep from reading too late or just getting extremely bored from reading the same information written in a new way over and over again. But she had read all of them, not wanting to read only some and find out much later that the books that she did not read were the ones with good information.

Frisk had started on the Snowdin Library, but partway through she had had enough of reading about souls for one run and had stopped reading and continued onto Waterfall.

Now she was back, ready to resume where she had left off. Papyrus happily joined her, though it was more for moral support than anything. She couldn’t easily explain _why_ she needed to read the soul books or who she was trying to save - that one especially she didn’t want anyone to know, for it would create an uproar if anyone did know - and she also wasn’t interested in being asked why she was wanting to save him. The last question would be somewhat easier to answer, but really she just wanted to do her research in peace. And so she did, interrupted only by Papyrus’ very excited comments on what she was reading.

Chara was slightly more interested in the books than Frisk, but even she was getting a little tired of souls and more souls. Thankfully, the Library did not have an endless supply of soul-related books, and without schooling or other planned activities, they were finished with all the literature the Library had to offer within a few hours.

Waterfall had no library; it was too damp and all-around wet for books to survive there, especially if a careless reader dropped a book on the not-necessarily-dry ground or forgot it on an old bench. It was too humid and wet to keep books there unless the owners were careful about what they did with them.

Hotland had no library; the lack of such was due more to the inhabitants’ extremely hot or flaming characteristics rather than the actual climate, although that perhaps was part of the reason. Dr. Alphys, however, giving off neither extreme heat or fire, kept the largest - and probably only - quantity of truly scientific books about the types of things Frisk was looking for; on top of that, she was more than willing for her lab to be used for a week by a human who wanted to read every soul-related book she owned and ask her to explain - or attempt to explain - the difficult scientific concepts in unscientific English. But after a few somewhat confusing explanations, Frisk switched to asking Sans.

The Core was not meant to be a place for monsters to live in; it was meant to supply power to the Underground, and so it, like Waterfall, had no library. The only people who were ever there were either workers - who were there to work - Mettaton - who was there to make things difficult - and humans - who were there to get to New Home. Really, if there was a library in the Core, it would store books to get dusty, for nobody would ever check them out, and the workers would have to make a lengthy commute to and from their homes every morning and evening.

Next up: New Home. At least when Chara had been alive, there had been no library in New Home, and besides, she wasn’t even sure that there was a way to get to the city streets from where Frisk was.

They both had other things besides libraries on their minds. Frisk voiced her thoughts first.

 _We’re almost there._ She looked out across the city, not able to make out a single monster on the streets of the eerily silent Capital. _I guess everyone is afraid of us. Maybe some of the other humans weren’t as friendly, or the monsters wouldn’t be hiding from us._

Frisk walked toward a house that looked very much like the one in the Ruins. It looked more like a place of foot traffic than a place where someone lived. Chara was silent, memories too vivid and thoughts too nagging for her to want to say anything she didn’t have to say right now. Frisk already knew what to do. She ignored the double-padlocked chain with a note attached, not caring that she could easily slip under it. Instead, she turned left.

Her footsteps sounded softly, even on the floorboards. A creak here and there accompanied the otherwise slow, small thuds of her feet. As Frisk approached the doorway to the kitchen, she heard two voices speak behind her. She didn’t need to turn to see the pair of Froggits beginning the tale. She had already memorized this part of it.

“A long time ago, a human fell into the Ruins.”

According to Chara, it hadn’t been _that_ long since she had fallen, but maybe a few years seemed a lot longer to monsters than humans.

“Injured by its fall, the human cried out for help.”

When Frisk had fallen into the Garbage Dump, the golden flowers reminded Chara of when she had fallen, and she always replayed that memory for Frisk, though it was always only what she had heard, not what she had seen:

“It sounds like it came from over here…” a young voice thought out loud. Soft, almost imperceptible footsteps could be heard approaching. Suddenly they stopped. Their owner had rounded the corner and could see her now, Chara recalled.

“Oh!” he cried. “You’ve fallen down, haven’t you…”

She always told Frisk that she had nodded.

“Are you okay?”

Chara remembered that she had nodded again, trying not to wince. She was mostly just exhausted, but she hurt all over from the fall.

“Here, get up…”

She knew that he had held out his hand, and she had taken it. He had pulled her hand and she had pushed against the ground with her other one for extra leverage, which had resulted in her standing upright with a grunt of exertion.

“I’m Chara,” she whispered, feeling the need to introduce herself.

“Chara, huh? That’s a nice name. My name is-”

And Chara would cut off the memory before Asriel could say his name. The first time, she hadn’t wanted to tell Frisk about Asriel. It was painful to say it out loud; it would inevitably bring memories of less happy times, and she didn’t want to ruin the memory for herself.

Yes, she talked about Asriel not infrequently with Frisk, but in context of that memory, it reminded her of his instant trust and friendship with her, and how she had betrayed it thoughtlessly and selfishly. It hurt to remember, but it helped when she told herself she could make it up to him by finding a way to get him his real body.

“Asriel, the king’s son, heard the human’s call.”

Frisk was walking back through the dining room toward the other end of the house.

“He brought the human back to the castle.”

And what a reception Chara had received there, though to be honest, she didn’t really remember her first meeting with the King and Queen of the Kingdom of Monsters. She had collapsed pretty quickly, only vaguely aware of the monsters’ worried cries that resulted from seeing her fall to the floor.

Frisk opened a door and stepped inside, shutting it quietly behind her.

Chara had woken to find herself lying in bed in this room. A sleeping bag was against the other wall in front of the bookshelf. How many nights had Asriel given up his bed for the random stranger he had brought home? She stretched, surprised to find that she didn’t hurt at all, anywhere. Well, except for her stomach, which was growling voraciously.

Frisk walked over to one of the boxes on the floor and opened it carefully, pulling out a heart-shaped locket bearing the words “Best Friends Forever” on both sides. There was nothing inside the locket.

It hurt too much to think about it. When Asriel had joyously danced to her one day, hands behind his back, and proclaimed that they needed something to be official best friends, announcing that he had just the right thing. When she had held out her hands and closed her eyes and felt something on a chain drop into them. When she had opened her eyes and saw- and saw- and saw _it_ there. When her eyes had involuntarily begun to water and her mouth had split into the biggest grin she had smiled since falling down and she had turned away in embarrassment, wiping furiously at her eyes. When she had slipped it around her neck and heard Asriel’s squeal of delight and watched him put his on too.

Frisk slipped the locket around her neck like Chara had. It felt like it was right where it belonged. The only thing wrong was that there was only one. She didn’t know where the other one was, and this one wasn’t hers. So it didn’t belong here after all. Not after everything she had done. She had torn the family apart, quite literally for her best friend. Everything had gone wrong since then, and Chara wouldn’t be able to fix it.

After second thought, Frisk pulled the locket off her neck and wound it around her arm. She was neither the giver nor the recipient of the locket, so why should she wear it as if it was hers?

Now she opened the other box and pulled out the worn dagger that had inhabited it.

This was Chara’s, not Asriel’s. It had been a special present from Asgore himself after he had learned of her love for gardening. At the same time, it had been a present from the whole Dreemurr family to her as an official confirmation of her adoption into the family. On each side of the handle was the inscription “Chara Dreemurr.” With it came a sheath on a strap so she could wear it over her shoulder or around her waist and not have to worry about it falling out of her pocket.

She knew every nick and blemish like it was part of her. On the day she had first received it, Chara had hardly even allowed it to leave her hand for any reason. And almost always, as she did with her locket, she kept it on her person during the day. At night she would (reluctantly) leave it in its sheath and hang it on her bedpost.

Frisk slipped the strap over her head and right shoulder so it hung down in easy reach of her dominant left hand. She fingered the handle that bore another’s name. This wasn’t hers; she shouldn’t use it, much less against the one who had given it to Chara. But when she raised that objection - which she had done multiple times over multiple timelines - Chara would always insist that Frisk should take it and even use it against Asgore.

It’s the strongest weapon you have, she would point out. I know neither of us like the fight, and you don’t want to use it because it was mine, but I’m giving you permission to use it. Besides, won’t it make the battle a lot shorter if it can do more damage?

And Frisk would always have to agree with Chara’s strong logic and not take it off like she always wanted to.

The next room, the one that would have been Toriel’s, was locked. A sign read “room under renovations,” but they both knew that it was almost certainly _not_ under renovations, as the sign read, but simply locked up so it would not get opened, accidentally or on purpose, and unleash a flood of painful memories. Toriel had done the same with Asgore’s old room in the Ruins.

A line of Moldsmals squorched behind them, each reciting its part of the story:

“Over time, Asriel and the human became like siblings.”

“The king and queen treated the human child like their own.”

“The Underground was full of hope.”

The third room was Asgore’s. Frisk didn’t bother with it, remembering from previous runs that there was nothing in there that would be of value to her. Instead, she pulled the second key off of the table outside the room and put it on her keychain beside the first.

She walked a few steps and stood in front of the mirror, lost in thought.

Chara voiced what she had been thinking about since entering the house.

Do you think we’ll be able to get Asriel to come with us? He’s already refused four times, and…

Frisk shrugged. _Maybe. Maybe not._

He is SO stubborn!

_I know._

But what if… what if he won’t come and won’t come, no matter how hard we try? What if he’s that stubborn. Will we just… leave him here to be a lonely, unhappy flower forever? She sniffed. I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to leave him behind and go down the mountain without him. I don’t know what I’ll do!

Frisk understood and agreed with Chara. She thought for a while, slowly being filled with determination, before looking directly at herself in the mirror, as though trying to see Chara inside herself.

“Chara?” she asked out loud.

Yeah?

She hesitated another moment, and then, “I promise you - and myself - that I will not stop trying and even resetting until we save Asriel. I promise.”

Right then she didn’t care how long it would take or how many timelines she would have to break until she could save Asriel. She just knew that she was ready and willing to try everything she could think of and then some to save him if that was what it took.

Chara sounded relieved. Thanks, Frisk. That means a lot to me.

Frisk nodded. _Are you ready to go?_

Well there’s not really any point in staying longer, so I guess I’m ready.

_If you say so._

Frisk walked back down the hallway and descended the stairs slowly, listening as the rest of the nearly four-dozen monsters unfolded their tale. Chara fell completely silent, probably filled with regret and remorse.

It hadn’t been that long since Asriel had crossed through the barrier. Frisk had been away when it had happened, but the stories she had heard were mostly accurate, though the few years between now and then had served to magnify the tale.

It hurt Frisk to fight Asgore, to stab the knife into him again and again, and it hurt Chara to watch Frisk do it, to know that this was the only way and that soon she would watch him turn to dust.

It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t fun. It never ended well. But it was the only way. And so they had to grit their teeth and keep going, reminding each other that it wouldn’t stay this way, that this wasn’t the end of the story, that they could get a happier ending through determination.

Chara didn’t have a choice of whether to keep going or not; she was stuck with Frisk. Frisk could keep going with the determination that had filled her since she had first fallen down. But beyond the determination, there were other things that she held onto even tighter: promises - some that she had made and others that she hadn’t - hopes - hopes of freedom and sunlight - and dreams - dreams of a happy ending where she was standing beside a young goat prince, surrounded by all her friends. Maybe it was a far-fetched idea, an impossible feat that none had or could accomplish. Even if that was the case, she knew someone who had done what Frisk would consider impossible, not just once or even twice, but many more times than she or anyone else could ever count.

  
  


For a while, Frisk and Chara tried convincing Asriel to come with them as Flowey. But in between trying to think up convincing arguments and moving pleas - ones that never succeeded - they were both getting tired of doing the same things over and over and over again. And mostly without realizing it, they were beginning to become unfeeling. 

Frisk wasn’t trying to be ungrateful to Toriel when she forgot to thank her for the pie. She wasn’t trying to be mean when she ignored Ice Cap way beyond the amount that would make him spareable. And she wasn’t trying to be inconsiderate when she walked into Waterfall, knowing full well that she hadn’t hung out with Papyrus. She was just getting tired weary of repeat performances with hardly varied end results, and besides, what difference did a couple words or even a hangout make in the long run?

Frisk hadn’t gone so far so as to not revive Undyne in Hotland. A fish with 100 pounds of armor in a land that felt the Sahara didn’t go together well, and it could easily lead to Undyne’s death. Frisk didn’t want anyone to die; her compassion and common sense would never have forgiven her if she hadn’t done something for Undyne.

She walked into the Lab and watched Alphys stammer about how unprepared she was to see anyone, followed by what almost sounded like a plea that Mettaton wouldn’t appear. Of course. Alphys was only acting and giving the cue for Mettaton to burst a hole in the wall, and Frisk knew that.

Mettaton commented on her lack of interest once or twice, but she didn’t care.

Hotland was boring.

It was in the Core that something finally changed. Here Frisk was walking, studiously avoiding unnecessary encounters. She didn’t notice any change until-

“ **heya.** ”

She yelped and whirled around, mostly surprised, but she used that to fuel the anger against herself for not being able to save Asriel. It had slowly been accumulating, and she was glad to have found a vent for it.

“What was that for?” she demanded. The anger seemed to bounce off of Sans without making an impact, like a toy arrow hitting a tank.

He gave a little laugh, rubbing the back of his skull. “ **heh. guess i was right.** ”

“Right about what!?” she challenged.

He shrugged. “ **pap’s been waiting at the house for what, three hours now? four? i told him you weren’t coming and didn’t care, that you didn’t have any respect for other people’s feelings, but of course he wouldn’t accept it.** ”

Frisk hesitated. She had forgotten about Papyrus, but the whole hangout thing had gotten pretty monotonous after the 10+ times she had done it. Same words, same actions. Every time.

“ **what? am i wrong?** ” Sans asked, tone conversational. “ **hey, i bet it would be fun. my bro’s been thinking up all kinds of fun things to do with you.** ”

She shrugged disinterestedly.

His voice suddenly acquired a cold, dead serious tone. “ **i think you should hang out with papyrus.** ” She had never heard it before, and after hearing it, she never wanted to hear it again.

She wasn’t shivering because of his words, Frisk told herself. It had just… gotten a little chilly. She wasn’t deciding to go to the skeletons’ house because of what Sans had said. She just… needed a change of scenery, and… maybe she had gotten lonely or something.

Frisk could feel his eyes on her back, watching her carefully while putting up a laid-back, lazy air around him. She breathed a sigh of relief when she was out of his sight - or to be more accurate, when he had moved out of her range of vision - but she didn’t come anywhere close to considering _not_ hanging out with Papyrus or even postponing the hangout an option.

“GREETINGS, HUMAN!” Frisk had wasted no time in arriving at Snowdin Town. Papyrus held the door to the house open for her, and she entered. “I WAS STARTING TO GET WORRIED ABOUT YOU! SANS SAID THAT YOU DID NOT CARE AND WERE NOT GOING TO COME, BUT IT APPEARS HE WAS WRONG! NYEH HEH HEH!”

As if on cue, Sans appeared on the couch near them. “ **’sup, bro. hey, kid,** ” he greeted.

Papyrus wheeled on his brother. “YOU ARE GETTING SO LAZY, SANS!” he scolded. “SOMETIMES YOU DON’T EVEN COME IN THE DOOR ANYMORE! YOU HAVE TO EXERCISE IF YOU WANT TO BE STRONG, LIKE ME!”

Sans shrugged. “ **nah, i don’t think i’ll catch up with you, so why even try?** ”

“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT! UGH, NEVER MIND!”

Despite herself, Frisk had to admit that Sans’ logic made a kind of sense. The beginnings of a smile drifted onto her face. Sans turned and winked at her, acting as if he hadn’t basically threatened her less than fifteen minutes earlier.

Apparently, the only thing to do that Papyrus had thought up beside the “regular” hangout events was to hang out at Undyne’s house and become friends with her. Frisk was fine with that.

“Hey, Papyrus! Ready for your one-on-one, extra-private, four hours late training?”

Papyrus nodded exuberantly, explaining that he had asked to do it later in the day because his friend hadn’t been with him at the time. Undyne was pleased to hear that he had made a new friend… until she saw who it was, of course. She was faced with two choices: rudely slam the door in the face of the human - and her friend, or invite her friend in - and the human. She chose to be polite for Papyrus’ sake.

When he ditched the party, Undyne chose to be much less polite until Papyrus commented on how she wasn’t up to the challenge of being friends with, as she put it “the enemy of everyone’s hopes and dreams.”

Frisk wasn’t exactly “the enemy of everyone’s hopes and dreams,” but in one sense she wasn’t _not_ the enemy, either. She was fighting an unseen battle to fulfill everyone’s hopes and dreams, including her own, but to make her hopes and dreams come true along with everyone else’s, she had to keep destroying the fulfillment of everyone else’s hopes and dreams. And it wasn’t easy.

On top of the constant nagging thought that she needed to save Asriel, that she didn’t know how to and she didn’t even know if anything she tried would even work, Sans had added the burden of watching her feelings and making sure that she didn’t grow cold to her friends. It was a good thing, something she needed to do, but it also meant one more thing to worry about.

After “learning” how to cook, Frisk returned to the Core. This time she chose the “Warrior’s Path,” encountering monsters and pacifying them to the point of sparing them. It was something beyond the dull monotony of the Underground, and her reflexes and dodging skills could always use more practice.

Finally she approached a doorway with a winged circle above it. The castle awaited, but there was one final battle she had to overcome before that, a battle where reflexes and dodging would really come in handy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea for the refrain "it hurt" in this chapter originally came from Chara's memories in [How to Save a Soul](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10630479/chapters/23516214) by [TheArchimage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheArchimage).


	4. Toriel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter really shouldn't have taken this long. *facepalm* But now that much of life is at a stop, maybe I'll get around to writing faster. :)

Already Sans’ warning threatened to fade to nothing in Frisk’s mind. Resets had already occurred between then and now, and Frisk and Chara were starting to expect to do a lot more of them than they had originally hoped. Continually one child had to remind the other to remember her feelings, and it helped a lot. Still, Frisk had to check herself before she spoke. What effect were her words going to have on the recipient? Would she hurt or help with these words?

Another reset, another time that Frisk chose to fly back to square one again with absolutely no progress made. Nobody cared, or understood, or even remembered. And it was exhausting. She was fighting the same useless, repetitive old battles - and the one she was about to fight was in many ways the hardest - or tied for the hardest - one for her to fight, though it involved no attacking on Frisk’s part.

She always enjoyed whatever rest she received at Toriel’s house. It was quiet and calm. No monsters dared venture inside the house of the one who called herself “caretaker of the Ruins,” and she lived up to the self-designated title well. The puzzles always seemed to be in working order, ready to show another child how they worked and kindly walk the learner through how it was done. The leaves were almost daily checked on and raked back into place when they were scattered by careless monsters inhabiting the area. Toriel didn’t mind. She liked doing it, and she detested the thought that someone might visit when things were not in order. Even when she apologized to Frisk that her house was in disarray, Frisk could find little or no fault with, much less mess in, the clean house.

It had become Frisk’s habit to stay overnight at Toriel’s house. In all the Underground, it was always the place where Frisk got more sleep than she ever did anywhere else. She usually took a nap upon arrival, discovered pie by her bed, hung out with Toriel for the evening, and slept again that night. In the morning she would eat the special breakfast Toriel had made for Frisk’s first breakfast in her house. It was almost always the last breakfast Frisk ate there also.

Then four hands lifted the dishes off of the table and carried them over to the sink. One pair of hands washed, the second rinsed, and the first magically dried them at a speed that would make the fastest hair dryer envious. Toriel was happy.

Frisk was not happy. She knew what would happen next. Toriel always asked about her grades and things in school, but before she could move to find teaching materials suitable to Frisk’s level, the girl interrupted with a small, simple, heart-wrenching question: “How do I leave the Ruins?”

And Toriel’s reaction always made her wish there was another way to do this, a way where she could walk through the door without it locking behind her, a way where she could get to the Ruins door peacefully, a way to leave without breaking the hearts of everyone involved.

But there wasn’t, at least not one that Frisk had found.

Then came the short yet arduous walk, one set of footsteps following the other down the hall as pleading words made no visible impact on the recipient, like throwing a handful of sand into the sea.

The choice was always set before Frisk clearly. There were two options: Fight or flight. Attack the monster who had been so kind to her or run from her and let her destroy the only exit from the Ruins. But it was not an either/or situation with only two choices that Frisk had to decide between. No, there was an option C, one that she had chosen even from the first run: Mercy. No fight, no flight, just weather the attacks until they slowed, wavered, and finally stopped.

It always took a long time, and the fireballs - hot and flaming by definition - were hard to dodge. The heat alone was enough to make Frisk want to quit, but if she gave up she wouldn’t leave. She had survived this before - and if she could walk through Hotland, which was bad enough without the flaming monsters attacking her, she could also stand in the middle of tens of fireballs. At least the elevators in Hotland were air-conditioned.

But here, there was no air-conditioning, and even if there was, it would have done little to cool down a child surrounded by fire. Somewhere in front of Frisk, an anguished voice cried over the fire. “What are you doing?

_I’m not fighting, like you told me to._

“Attack or run away!”

Frisk didn’t often respond to Toriel, for it had never done her any good, but this time she did. “No!” She shouted, loud enough to be heard.

“Then what are you proving this way?”

“That I am strong enough to survive! That I can take care of myself! That I- That the barrier can be broken and everyone freed without me having to die!” Whether everyone would leave the Underground was another question.

It didn’t seem to have any effect on Toriel. Instead she tried to insist that there were only two ways to end the fight. “Either fight or leave! Why won’t you listen to me? Those are your only options!”

But Frisk knew better, and she wasn’t about to fight the loving, motherly goat-lady or flee the battle.

More commands - or entreaties - issued from Toriel’s mouth, but the girl in front of her wasn’t listening. At least, she wasn’t responding. She could hear just fine.

“Go away!”

Almost done, Chara reminded Frisk. Don’t give up.

A fireball slammed into Frisk’s side, causing her to stagger forward. Another one passed uncomfortably close to her, but she forced herself to stay upright and keep moving. She couldn’t die now, not when she was so close to the end. So, like always, she gritted her teeth and ignored the pain as best she could.

When the attacks stopped, Frisk smiled at Toriel, a mix of emotions covering her face. This was how it always was.

“Goodbye, my child.” Toriel turned to leave and took a step back down the long hallway.

“W-wait!” An idea had popped into Frisk’s head. It wasn’t new, but she hadn’t tried it either. Toriel stopped and half-turned to look at her. “What if- what if you came with me? I would be safe then, right? And I wouldn’t have to leave you!”

Toriel seemed to have a negative answer ready, so Frisk added a begging “Please!” Her lips pursed, she tilted her head from side to side, mentally going through her choices and the resulting effects. For a second, Chara thought she would say no. Eventually she let out a breath and sighed, turning around fully. “Alright, my child. I will come with you and protect you.”

Frisk beamed, and if Chara had had a face right then, she would have been beaming even more than Frisk.

The monster took the human’s hand, and together they walked through the door.

Flowey was waiting for Frisk, but he quickly disappeared before Toriel could throw the fireball that had materialized in her paw upon seeing him. Her grip on Frisk’s hand tightened a little as they passed the place where Flowey had been.

Once they entered the snowy forest, she warmed Frisk by putting a fireball behind her, though Frisk tried to insist that she was fine without it. It melted the snow around her, but she didn’t mind. She had waded through Waterfall and trudged through Hotland. Mud was nothing compared to those two places.

A stick snapped behind them, but when Toriel turned to look, there was nobody. The fireball disappeared as she quickened her pace, gripping Frisk’s hand tightly, until they reached a short bridge with bars too wide even to stop a boss monster.

Frisk turned to watch Sans out of the corner of her eye as he approached, his feet crunching the ice rhythmically. Toriel spun around to face him, an uninviting look on her face as she stepped in front of her child.

“Don’t you know how to greet a new pal?” he inquired, his voice strangely ominous. Something cast a shadow on him, darkening his otherwise bright bones to obscurity. “You’re supposed to shake my hand.” He held out his hand.

Toriel hesitated before reaching out her own hand to shake his, her large paw enfolding his. Later, Frisk could never remember a time when the whoopee cushion made a louder noise than when Toriel was the one grasping Sans’ hand. Frisk was surprised it didn’t break from the pressure.

Toriel’s initial reaction was a mixture of surprise and confusion. Sans, on the other hand, laughed at the joke played on her, and she in turn joined in graciously. Then they both stopped, each recognizing the laugh of the other.

“Do I-” Toriel began. “I think we may know each other?”

“ **yeah, i recognize your voice, too,** ” the skeleton agreed. “ **the name’s sans.** ”

“I am Toriel. It is nice to finally meet you.”

“ **um, yeah, same.** ” Sans glanced over at Frisk, studying her for a moment before his taller, louder brother appeared behind them.

“SANS! IT’S B-” He broke off when he realized that Sans was not alone. He then looked to Frisk and was about to ask if she was a human when he realized who Toriel reminded him of. And suddenly he had nothing to say. Fortunately, Toriel did.

“Greetings. You must be Sans’ brother, Papyrus. I am Toriel.”

With this prompt, Papyrus finally found something to say. “GREETINGS! IT IS NICE TO MEET YOU! UM, DO YOU LIKE PUZZLES?”

“Why yes! Do you enjoy making them, or just solving them?”

“I DO BOTH, TORIEL! I ESPECIALLY LIKE TO MAKE THEM AND SEE IF OTHER PEOPLE CAN SOLVE THEM! IF THEY CANNOT, I TRY TO MAKE THEM LESS HARD!”

“Wonderful!” Toriel seemed to be perfectly at home among the brothers, one sharing her love of puns and the other sharing her love of puzzles. “Can you show me any of them?”

If Papyrus had been enthusiastic before, he was doubly enthusiastic now, as well as ecstatic. “OF COURSE!” he nearly yelled. “I CAN SHOW YOU THEM RIGHT NOW, IF YOU WANT!”

Toriel looked to the silent, smiling child by her side, who nodded. “Alright then, lead the way.”

Papyrus practically danced his way to his first puzzle, the electric maze. On the way, Doggo briefly appeared from behind his doghouse. Each person patted his head and continued on their way.

Papyrus stopped at the edge of what appeared to be a perfectly square patch of packed snow. “THIS IS ONE OF THE PUZZLES I HAVE CREATED TO TRY TO CAPTURE A HUMAN!” he announced excitedly. “THE HUMAN WILL HOLD THIS ORB” - which he now proudly displayed in his hand, though neither Toriel nor Frisk could quite figure out where he had gotten it from - “ON THEIR HEAD, AND WILL THEN HAVE TO SOLVE THE MAZE! IF THE HUMAN STEPS ON THE ELECTRICAL PART OF THE MAZE, THE ORB WILL SHOCK THEM, AND I WILL BE ABLE TO CAPTURE THEM!”

“…And why do you want to capture a human?” Toriel asked, glancing worriedly at Frisk and Sans.

Papyrus didn’t notice the looks that passed between his brother and the ex-Queen. “WELL, I WANT TO BE IN THE ROYAL GUARD! AND IF I CAPTURE A HUMAN, UNDYNE WILL MAKE ME A ROYAL GUARDSMAN! THEN I WILL GET ALL THE PRESTIGE, RESPECT, AND RECOGNITION THAT I DESERVE! I WILL BE POPULAR! PEOPLE WILL ASK TO BE MY FRIEND! I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!”

“…Oh, I see,” Toriel answered slowly.

“DO YOU WANT TO TRY IT OUT?”

Those were the first words Papyrus had directed to Frisk since he had arrived. He held out the orb and studied her curiously. “WAIT A SECOND… ARE YOU A HUMAN?” When she nodded, his eyesockets grew as big as tennis balls. “THEN YOU MUST TRY IT!”

Toriel was about to say no when Frisk took the orb and placed it on her head, unafraid. She had walked the maze with her eyes closed last run just to prove to herself that she knew how to do it. She could do it this time too.

“PREPARE TO BE CAPTURED!” Papyrus exclaimed as she took her first step onto the packed snow, creating a footprint in the otherwise undisturbed fresh coat of powdery snow.

Despite Toriel’s well-founded fears about the puzzle and everyone else’s expectations, Frisk was not hurt as she walked along the safe path. She stepped off of the packed snow, lifted the orb from her head, and held it out to the dumbstruck Papyrus, who mechanically took it.

Throughout the day, Frisk continued to shock the trio of monsters who followed or led her to puzzle after puzzle. Toriel, on the other hand, continued to protect Frisk from the various dogs and other monsters who tried to attack Frisk, either to kill her or simply to interact in a friendly manner, not realizing that she was not a monster like they were. She ended up petting all the dogs, and she promised that if she came back this way, she would remember to give them all some pats.

In Snowdin, Toriel insisted that Frisk try to sleep at the Snowed Inn, explaining that it was wise for her to get some rest where she could, especially since the next area of the Underground might be - here she hesitated slightly - more challenging to get through.

Toriel knew enough about Undyne to know that she was a real enemy, not like the dogs, who would cease fighting when someone rubbed the top of their heads and scratched behind their ears. No, Undyne was someone truly trained to fight, who would try everything in her power to not let a human, even an innocent child like Frisk, leave Waterfall alive.

Frisk didn’t argue, though she knew from experience how little sleep she would get at the Inn.

Toriel hadn’t made as big of a stir in the town as Frisk would have expected. Perhaps it was due to the monsters’ short memory, though she guessed it was partially due to Toriel’s choice of robe color today - not pure white, but a cream color with the deltarune in a soft purple on the front - almost the exact reverse of the robe she had worn the day before. The cream and white of Toriel’s robe and fur blended in well with the snow, and although she was not trying to hide - though perhaps she did keep to the side of the main road - the older monsters and those with generally poorer eyesight had a harder time telling her apart from the snow or noticing the little horns that graced the top of her head and the floppy ears that touched her shoulders - two main indications of her relation in species with Asgore.

And then, Waterfall. Frisk awoke a few minutes after falling asleep and sighed softly as the much-too-loud snores of monsters in the next room infiltrated her brain. She wasn’t going to fall asleep at this rate. But Toriel had insisted that she nap - or try to nap - for an hour before she came downstairs, so Frisk persisted in lying there, listening to the monsters snore.

This time, however, she fell asleep again and did not wake until it was late at night. Although it was late, she was somewhat surprised that Papyrus didn’t show up to block their entrance into Waterfall. Was he… actually going to sleep when he had a chance to capture a human?

Toriel and Frisk found little hindrance at first. Most monsters were diurnal and it was getting close to nighttime, so they had no need to keep an eye out for threatening creatures lurking in the corners or just around the bend. Falling rocks were avoided by Toriel’s careful watch as she urged her child to move at the proper times. Not that Frisk needed the help, but she didn’t mind. The bridge seeds were no problem, as the boss monster could jump the gap while carrying the human child.

In soft tones, echo flowers repeated the wishes of a child from years ago. Toriel seemed agitated, but Frisk understood. After looking through the telescope, the girl pointed down the corridor that appeared to be a dead end. “It says ‘CHECK WALL.’” At the slightest touch, part of the wall fell flat with a hollow boom, creating a doorway that had not been there before.

Toriel glanced over the old runes on the wall in the next area. “It appears it is time for you to have a history lesson, my child.” She read the first one out loud. “The War of Humans and Monsters.”

Frisk’s brow furrowed. “Um, didn’t you say this place would be ‘more challenging’ to get through? If there’s someone - or something - that would make Waterfall more challenging, do we want to make a lot of noise?”

Toriel paused, considering the logic of the question, then nodded. “You are right, dear one,” she answered in a much quieter voice. “Let us keep our conversations to a minimum for now.”

Frisk silently complied, though she wondered how much it would actually help.

  
  


Hiding in the shadow of a pillar, Undyne never took her eye off the unsuspecting child starting down the bridge. A shimmering blue spear appeared in her hand. As she pulled her arm back to throw, a woman hurried toward and caught up with Undyne’s target.

For one of the first times in her life, she hesitated before she threw her spear, at the same time chiding herself that she hadn’t believed Papyrus’ slightly confused report about someone “WHO REMINDED ME OF ASGORE, EXCEPT NOT LIKE ASGORE, BUT IT WAS HARD FOR ME TO KEEP TRACK OF THEM BECAUSE THEY BLENDED IN WITH THE SNOW.” It was obvious that the child was a human, but it was nearly as obvious that the lady with the human girl was the Queen. Or ex-Queen, whatever. Undyne’s whole job was training herself and others to fight humans, and now that she had a chance, she had to choose between doing her job - and hurling her spear at a human - the seventh human, the one whose soul would let them all go free - or not throwing the spear because she might hit Toriel - Asgore’s wife, for whom he still longed, even though she had been gone for a long time. To report to him “I got the last soul at the cost of your wife” would shatter his heart like a bowl when she got carried away in cooking lessons and slammed the pot down on it instead of the counter.

The child looked around silently and caught Undyne’s eye, appearing unfazed at the sight of the spear. She hardly even flinched when it landed quivering, point first, two feet in front of her. Undyne hadn’t missed her mark. She hadn’t intended to hit either of the bridge’s occupants… that time.

It only took a split second for Toriel to react, scooping Frisk up as she began to run down the bridge, paws beating out a steady _thump, thump, thump_ while she carefully shielded her human child in the expectation of more flying spears.

Undyne glared at them, unable - or rather, unwilling - to throw another spear when she was more likely to hit Toriel than to hit Frisk. Then they were off the bridge and out of sight - out of range.

Immediately, Undyne jumped across the water, instinctively landing in a crouch on the bridge. Her one eye narrowed, locking onto a fleeing white form. To complete the look, her mouth hardened into a scowl. She hardly realized she had begun to run until she felt grass under her feet and noticed that she was trampling a path through the sea-grass. She’d have to apologize to Alphys later, but she couldn’t slow down. This might be her only chance to get the human’s soul. Toriel didn’t seem intent on stopping any time soon, and at the rate she was running, it wouldn’t be too long until they reached Hotland, which Undyne couldn’t enter - not when she was in full armor - for fear of heatstroke.

Her mind was racing. She was behind Toriel; Toriel had a good headstart and was taking the most direct route through Waterfall. Pictures of the rooms ahead flashed through the warrior fish. The dark rooms. Even those in Waterfall could get disoriented there. Asgore had called her once when he had gotten “hopelessly lost,” as he put it. Turned out he was about five feet from the main path and had probably been walking in circles for the last fifteen minutes. Undyne could almost certainly catch Toriel in there. If not, Undyne could take shortcuts and confront her - and the human - at the exit to Waterfall.

A defiant grin spread across her face. She wasn’t beaten yet.

Frisk felt absolutely no fear as Toriel hurtled down the path. The greatest threat right now was that she would fly out of Toriel’s arms. To anyone who had half an ear - or enough sense to realize that the shaking ground was not caused by an earthquake - it was obvious that Undyne was in hot pursuit, but no spears flew through the air since she wouldn’t hit her well-protected target.

In fact, Frisk felt excited. This variant of the timeline was unique from every one before it. Chara was about to ask her if she thought they would leave Waterfall without fighting Undyne when Toriel missed a turn and skidded to a halt in a short dead-end.

Behind her, Undyne quickly caught up. “Hey.” She sounded civil, but it didn’t disguise her anger well. Toriel only turned halfway around, carefully protecting Frisk. “You know why I’m here.” No answer. “Look, it’ll be a lot easier if you just let me have the human. You know that, right?” Still no answer. “Have you gotten soft? I mean, you were always- What I’m trying to say is, have you forgotten who killed your son? The crown prince? And the human girl? The hope of the Underground? Do you not realize that we only need _one more soul_ to break the barrier!? Don’t you understand that you are holding _the key to our freedom_!? All it takes is ONE” - a spear appeared in Undyne’s hand - “SPEAR!!! NGAAHHHH!!!” The spear slammed into the ground. “So give her to me or do it yourself! It’s not that hard!!”

“No.” Toriel stood there, face impassive, as if trying to do an impression of Frisk, who along with Chara was currently wishing she could see Undyne better.

“Then I guess we’ll have to do it the hard way.” With that, Undyne turned and stalked down the path Toriel had meant to take. When she was gone, Toriel sat down, breathing heavily, arms still around Frisk, who smiled up at her. “It won’t be bad. Both of us against just her, right?”

She nodded and forced a smile. “Yes, my child, but I am afraid you will get hurt.”

“It’ll be alright. I’ll be fine.” It didn’t reassure the monster, but she stood up nonetheless, still carrying Frisk, who watched with interest as they traveled down the path, headed straight for the crag under which Undyne was waiting.

“I tried to warn you. It’s gonna be a lot harder to do it this way, but if that’s how you want to do it, fine.” Closing her eyes, the warrior took a deep breath, steeling herself to fight the Queen. That was when Frisk made her move. Locking eyes with her self-appointed caretaker, she set her mouth in a determined line that suggested a smile before wriggling her way out of Toriel’s grasp. In desperation Toriel snagged her shirt, but the girl wrested it out of her grip, off-balancing the boss monster and causing her to crash into Undyne. Frisk couldn’t resist a giggle as she made the most of the unintentional diversion. If she pushed herself in an all-out sprint, she ought to be able to reach Hotland before Undyne could catch her - assuming that it would take a minute for the others to untangle themselves. An enraged shout reached her ears, combined with a startled yet encouraging cry.

Frisk’s pocket began to ring and vibrate. With a mix of a sigh and a groan, she pulled it out and held it to her ear, still running.

“GREETINGS, MY SORT OF ENEMY!” She had never heard _that_ greeting before. “I THOUGHT I WOULD HAVE TO FIGHT YOU, BUT YOU MUST HAVE SLIPPED PAST WHEN I WAS CALLING UNDYNE! YOU ARE VERY SNEAKY, HUMAN! … YOU SEEM TO BE HUFFING AND PUFFING A LOT. ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

“Yeah,” she managed to gasp out. “I’m running.”

“I SEE! WELL, I WAS THINKING-”

Frisk was suddenly aware of two sets of thundering footsteps - one pair much more clanky than the other - behind her and ended the call, putting the phone back in her pocket, now concentrating only on getting away. It wasn’t much longer now. Since she was focusing so much on putting one foot after another that she might not have realized she was in Hotland if she hadn’t been welcomed by the usual blast of heat that every regular visitor to Hotland learned to dread.

Anyone else would have groaned or fanned themselves, but Frisk didn’t have time for unnecessary things like that. Her legs wobbled.

Just a little farther! Chara encouraged. The water cooler is just across the bridge.

With the assurance that she was almost at the end of her mad dash, Frisk found the energy to push herself to keep going, even passing the water cooler, until she tripped and fell down between it and the lab.

Ignoring her scraped knees and breathing heavily, she pushed herself to her feet and turned around to see Undyne in hot pursuit. Literally. But she collapsed before the water cooler and Frisk knew she was safe.

Close behind Undyne was Toriel, out of breath though in much better condition than Undyne, seeing as the latter would soon have heatstroke if nothing was done, but the former was only sweating heavily.

“My child!” she panted.

Frisk walked toward her, pausing at the water cooler to get a cup of the cool water that it held, almost by definition. A pleased, approving smile broke through Toriel’s concern as Frisk revived her enemy. As the fish covered in 100 pounds of armor slowly retreated, as much for her own safety as to preserve what little dignity she felt remained after fainting mid-chase and having to be revived by her enemy.

While Toriel healed Frisk’s knees, Frisk answered her phone, which was again ringing. Papyrus was probably calling again.

“GREETINGS AGAIN, HUMAN!”

“Hi, Papyrus. Sorry I had to hang up a minute ago. I really needed to concentrate on running right then.”

“NO WORRIES! UNDYNE JUST CALLED AND TOLD ME I DIDN’T HAVE TO TRY TO CAPTURE YOU AND THAT SHE WOULD BE READY REALLY SOON FOR MY COOKING LESSON! SO I THOUGHT, WHY DON’T I ASK THAT HUMAN WHO I WANT TO BE FRIENDS WITH IF SHE WOULD LIKE TO COOK WITH ME! THEN WE CAN ALL BE FRIENDS! SO, DO YOU WANT TO HANG OUT AT UNDYNE’S HOUSE?”

Toriel frowned, having heard every word that had passed between the callers. Frisk’s eyes begged for a yes. Her free hand made an OK symbol. Her mouth curved into a reassuring smile. Toriel sighed.

  
  


Quite understandably, Undyne was not pleased about having two uninvited visitors any more than she was about Papyrus ditching the group. She would have thrown Frisk out of her house had Papyrus not implied that it was a challenge to be friends with a human, and exclaimed how sad it was that Undyne wasn’t able to meet it.

Soon they were sipping tea, but upon realizing that she should have been teaching Papyrus how to cook, Undyne forgot the tea and pounced on Frisk, announcing that she would have to take the place of her AWOL student. Toriel was allowed to help teach the cooking lesson, probably because Toriel was - or had been - the Queen. 

The lesson started out safely enough. Toriel insisted that Frisk wear an apron, though Undyne saw no reason to get dirty in the kitchen. (“Fighting’s always messy and nobody ever has an apron when they’re sparring!”) This time the sauce was not mashed on the counter, but in a bowl. Undyne still managed to punch it before Toriel could get her to do it the regular way. The noodles were boiled with water, and the heat remained at a reasonable level.

When the noodles were ready, Frisk added the sauce while Toriel admired the piano. Seeing her chance, Undyne grabbed the heat dial and spun it with one hand, grabbing the spoon with the other and stirring vigorously. She licked splatters of sauce off her face with relish. By the time Toriel realized what was happening, the fire originally intended to heat the sauce was licking the ceiling.

Frisk couldn’t clearly remember what happened after that. Something exploded and the rest was a haze of smoke, heat, and singed fur. Toriel practically threw her out of the burning house, following quickly behind with Undyne. Afterwards Undyne, who by now had lost all her hostility toward Frisk, suggested that they go to Papyrus’ house, adding that it might be a “more successful” hangout than what happened at hers. Toriel agreed. She could use half an hour of bad puns and good jokes - or good puns and bad jokes - with Sans while Papyrus and Undyne kept an eye on Frisk before braving Hotland.

Frisk smiled wistfully.

It was peaceful here.


	5. Waterfall

In the end, Toriel hadn’t made a difference. Frisk lost her in New Home and continued alone to the throne room. She didn’t find Frisk until Asgore was terribly wounded. Despite everything he had done, she knelt at his side, paws glowing green.

Frisk watched in slow motion as a ring of bullets encircled both of them. Almost simultaneously, the boss monsters’ eyes widened, first in surprise, then realization, then horror. Toriel seemed to understand first. Paws still colored by her healing magic, she held Asgore’s hands, accepting that she had come just in time to see him die, and perhaps to die with him. This was not a time to keep her dormant feelings behind bars.

The king’s eyes locked with the queen’s. As the friendliness pellets closed in, his muzzle met hers and nuzzled her for the last time. Even Frisk could see the regret and apology communicated in that simple act. Toriel’s gaze didn’t flinch. She just smiled, pain and joy mixed like pie filling on her face.

Flowey, as Frisk expected, only found it amusing that both the king _and_ queen were killed in a single fight - “And Toriel didn’t even _try_ to fight! Hee hee!” he mimicked her giggle. Both he and Frisk knew any fight Toriel might have put up would do nothing to stop Flowey, for he had already had taken the human souls.

Frisk acted like she hadn’t heard a word Flowey just said. Flowey’s face contorted into a scowl. “Hey! Did you even hear what I just said!?”

Frisk’s eyes flicked over to his with an air of disinterest. “Yeah. You just told me what I’ve already heard twenty times, though it was slightly different since you killed Toriel as well as Asgore.”

Flowey stared. Suddenly he broke out into peals of laughter. “You can’t fool me! You haven’t reset even _once_ , stupid!”

One eyebrow curved upward with a questioning air. “I haven’t?”

The hesitation wasn’t covered up quickly enough for Frisk to not notice. “N-No!” She wore a look that told Flowey he wasn’t convincing. “And even if you _have_ , you will never get to again!” His white face starkly contrasted the utter darkness around him. It reminded Frisk of old movies, except this one had sound and sound effects. Mostly maniacal laughter and a cheery voice so innocent that few would ever mistake its owner to be innocent, and none if they stood in Frisk’s shoes.

The child stepped forward, hands hanging at her sides as they often did. A sheathed knife hung by her side, swaying like ivy with the wind. It bounced against her side when she walked, a steady drumbeat in time with her feet.

Flowey laughed condescendingly, almost pitying her useless action. “You can’t stop me! You’re an idiot if you think that’s possible,” he admonished. The world around him turned blood-red to reveal the rest of his body, previously invisible in the black void.

Usually when this happened, Frisk’s breath caught in her throat, even as she remembered that it was possible to reduce the monster who probably belonged in a horror movie to a flower so weak that the slightest attack was likely to finish him off, but today was different. She stood straighter than a pencil and stared directly into his eyes. She wasn’t sure what was prompting her to do this. Maybe it was the memory of Toriel, accepting her fate with a grace few could pull off, at the same time forgiving Asgore for everything that had made her leave. Maybe it was Chara, whispering encouragement to her that filled her with determination.

Although Flowey confidently claimed that Frisk would never be able to reset again, she was soon lying on a patch of golden flowers again.

And again.

And again.

Frisk was losing count of every time she had shattered time like smashing plexiglass and repaired it better than the finest craftsman could ever hope to fix something like that. No visible marks remained when she was done with it; it was as if nothing had ever happened.

  
  


Papyrus hadn’t told Frisk about Undyne. Undyne would probably look at it as helping the enemy, which would only make her mad at Papyrus. No matter. Frisk already knew. That was why she watched Papyrus’ report to Undyne without fear. The human could feel stalks of sea-grass bent towards her, and every so often a rustle implying that she had company in the blue-tinted darkness of her hiding place.

The monster kid was excited, as always. Frisk had already met him twice. Once had been in Snowdin near the brightly decorated Gyftmas tree - it was clear the children had made their own ornaments: the branches were carefully covered in every size and shape of ornament. Since there was no place to wrap tinsel around the tree, some would wrap it around the base like a puddle of rainwater in Waterfall; or, if they got to the tree before it was drowned in decoration, they might wrap it up the length of the trunk - not that many would see it through the profusion of festive trinkets. Around the tree, some nearly hidden by the low-hanging branches, were presents of all shapes and sizes, decorated with bows and ribbons and sometimes even stickers.

The second time Frisk had met the kid - much more recently than the first time - was in near Sans’ Waterfall sentry station. (It had snow on it, like his stations in Snowdin and Hotland. It was always a mystery why there was still snow on it in the humid climate of Waterfall - or in Hotland, why there was snow perfectly intact when there should be nothing but water or steam in that heat.) He had been staring over the edge, probably wondering where the water went or when it hit the bottom of the waterfall. This place wasn’t called Waterfall for nothing.

Undyne had finished talking with Papyrus by the time Frisk had finished her memories. In another minute it was as if she had never been there.

Frisk knew to expect a barrage of excited exclamation once she left the grass, but for just a moment, she lay on her back and smiled, smelling the slightly salty smell of sea-grass. She could hear the rustle of the kid running out into the open, but she didn’t follow yet. Because the tall plant stalks obstructed much of her vision, the light above her reminded her of stars. The grass was not soft, but it was not sharp like the kind that cut your hand if you weren’t careful. It was smooth save for the vein running down the middle. Absently Frisk wondered what it would taste like. Since the sea-grass was under scientific protection, she couldn’t pick or eat any without asking Dr. Alphys when she reached the lab, though the nervous lizard probably wouldn’t mind.

Frisk, Chara reminded,  I know it’s nice here, but you can’t lie here all day. 

Regretfully, Frisk rose and pushed through the grass. There was ground to cover, puzzles to solve, monsters to pacify and to befriend. It wouldn’t happen if she stayed here, much as she would like to lie down, close her eyes, and sleep, leaving her troubles to dissipate until her eyes opened and the heavy weight of an impossible mission bowed her shoulders again. So taking a deep breath, she rose to her feet and walked out into the open.

Frisk was immediately met by the avalanche she had correctly predicted she would receive from Monster Kid. He was spinning around, feet running in place and tail wagging like a dog’s. Frisk only smiled and started down the hallway. He ran off in a blur. Frisk continued her walk at a steady, leisurely pace.

A monster (Wosh u teeth and eyes), way more bridge seeds than Frisk actually needed (Why are you creating bridges to nowhere?), and a quiche later, Papyrus called with the usual question of what apparel she was currently wearing.

The next room, officially named the Wishing Room, often felt like it should be called the Whispering Room. Five echo flowers whispered snatches of sentences to each other like gossip over and over until a new voice replaced the old ones. Frisk wondered how long the current conversation had been cycling around the room. What she heard filled her with determination.

Chara was silent, her thoughts occupying her time. She had been here more than once. The monster asking his sister to make a wish wasn’t Asriel, but she remembered fondly when he had persuaded her to make a wish.

“Chara, guess what this room is!”

Chara’s sharp eyes had already noticed and read the plaque, but she answered Asriel anyway. “What?”

“It’s the Wishing Room! See all the glowing rocks in the ceiling? Well, you can’t tell that they’re rocks since the ceiling is so high up, but that’s what Dad said Dr. Gaster said a book said they were! They’re called yoo-yoop-” he shrugged helplessly. “Yoop-something. When monsters were on the Surface, they used to tell the stars their wishes! (I learned that last year in history with Mom.) Now we just have the glowing rocks. They’re like our replacement stars! So we wish on them instead.” For a moment, a cloud darkened his face. “I would rather wish on the real stars, though.” Then it passed and he was back to his normal self. “Chara, you should make a wish!”

 _Stars can’t make your wish come true, Asriel,_ Chara wanted to say. _There’s no point in it._ She stared up at the “stars” and sighed.

“C’mon, Chara! I can wish for something too, if you don’t want to do it alone.”

Her eyes fixed on a large “star,” voice so quiet that even she could hardly hear it. “I wish… I wish everyone could go free.”

Asriel twiddled his paws. He obviously hadn’t heard her. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to…”

Then it hit her.

“…Chara?”

She spun around. “Wha- No, it’s fine, Ree. I wish… I wish you could stand on the Surface and see the sunset.”

It was so simple.

  
Maybe there was a point in wishing on stars after all.

Frisk had put her eye to the telescope, staring at the “stars”. She sighed. She hated to tear herself away from this, but the world was going on around her. People were waiting for her. Specifically, Undyne and the monster kid.

Frisk found the run from Undyne exhilarating and energizing. It was a chance to push herself. It was a chance to see how much she remembered, how much she had memorized of the attack. Besides, every time she dodged or doubled back differently, the spears might fly at an angle she wasn’t expecting and she’d have to make split-second reactions. Her fear of almost anything and everything in the Underground had long since vanished completely, and what had filled its place was an increasing amount of determination, a hint of fearlessness, and a bit of daring.

Frisk considered dashing straight through the grass, but the danger of bowling over the young monster and/or the possibility of Undyne chasing Frisk for who knows how long, coupled with her already heaving sides made her think twice about it.

Once Undyne was gone, Frisk again wanted to sink into the grass with a sigh. Instead, she walked out of the grass, which was slightly taller than she was, and patiently listened to Monster Kid.

At Chara’s urging, Frisk whispered her own hopes and dreams into an echo flower beside a save point.

Next up was Sans and his prank telescope. Frisk fished around in her pocket and felt a napkin from Grillby’s. Good.

“ **heya.** ”

“Hi Sans,” she greeted with a smile. “Is this your telescope?” She already knew, but she asked anyway.

“ **sure is. wanna try it out, kid? i usually charge 50000G to use this premium telescope, but since i know you, you can use it for free. whaddya think?** ”

“Sure!”

Frisk didn’t want to seem like she already knew everything, so she _almost_ put her eye to the telescope before taking a step back and frowning, peering at it closely.

“ **what, is somethin’ wrong?** ” Sans asked. If she hadn’t known better, she probably would have mistaken his look for one of genuine confusion.

Frisk withdrew her napkin. “The lens is a little dirty, that’s all.” Before the skeleton could stop her, she had wiped off all the offending… whatever it was off the eyepiece. Only when she was certain she had gotten it all did she peer through the telescope.

Chara was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t a fake telescope.  That is totally what he would do, Frisk, she had argued when Frisk was nonchalantly cleaning the eyepiece,  It is probably not worth it. 

_So? Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. It doesn’t_ look _like a fake,_ the other girl had retorted, determined to take a look. _We have time._

Chara had given a huff, but she hadn’t sounded annoyed.

Frisk turned the telescope this way and that, enjoying the rare, fine-detail view of the cavern ceiling. For a moment, she turned it on Sans and giggled. His grin grew good-naturedly and she pointed it at the stars again, silently pouring out a thousand wishes to glowing rocks that held secrets infinitely better than any talking flower.

When she had finished, Frisk pulled back reluctantly and turned to Sans. “Thanks for letting me use the telescope. It was really cool!” She smiled and he returned it, still acting as if it hadn’t been a prank in the first place. Typical Sans.

A quick detour to the Nice Cream Man and she was back on track, walking on marshy ground interspersed with Echo Flowers whispering an age-old conversation. It was a wonder it had survived so long, Gerson reminisced once. There was an almost reverent silence in this place. Maybe the monsters that walked here, reading the history and listening to the words of monsters whose names had been lost to history, didn’t want it to ever disappear.

A pair of used shoes in hand, Frisk wandered over bridges thoughtfully placed where the water broke up the ground and was too deep for most non-aquatic monsters to cross without difficulty until she reached slightly less marshy ground, though bridges were still needed on occasion.

Frisk pulled out her phone. As if on cue, it rang. Papyrus was calling to warn her that the friend who had wanted to know what she was wearing had something of a “murdery” opinion of her. Frisk thanked him and continued on her way, completely unperturbed by the completely expected news.

After Onionsan - whom Chara was certain had to know Burgerpants somehow, simply because their everyday facial expressions were so similar - Frisk ran into someone who could be called a fish lady, but she wasn’t Papyrus’ murdery friend. This was Shyren, who was more like a mermaid version of Aaron than a yelling, spear-wielding piranha-like monster who had worked her way to the top of the Royal Guard through grit and determination alone, as Gerson had told Frisk before. No, Shyren was different. She was, well, shy. Once, she wasn’t like this, Undyne had told Frisk, she had been a lively singer and on her way to becoming an armless piano virtuoso. (At least, according to Undyne’s standards.) Shyren had a large extended family, but her sister had been dearest to her. But ever since her sister had fallen down she had become a different person. Now, without her best friend and only sibling, she’d become reclusive and shy.

Frisk always felt sorry for Shyren, and more so after hearing the story. It was part or most of the reason she stayed around to have a concert with the monster instead of leaving once Shyren could be spared.

As monsters were attracted like iron filings to a magnet - some out of pity, others curiosity, and a few from loyalty - Frisk felt herself pushed a little closer and a little closer toward the waterfall that provided a beautiful - if loud and misty - backdrop for the human and monster, though never close enough for her to worry about being pushed into it. Where it came from and where it went only the reclusive aquatic monsters knew. In other timelines, Gerson had suggested that it was part of the naturally formed water system that the monsters had found when they first moved here. Undyne had strongly disagreed.

“ _Natural!?_ No way! Did anyone ever tell you the legends about Onionsan’s, uh, what was it, cousin, I think, about 17 times removed?” Frisk shook her head. “Huh, well, I guess Alphys is the one who has all the books on it. Not a lot of people know it. Though I’m kinda surprised Gerson didn’t know.”

Frisk wondered, “Was he alive then?

Undyne shrugged. “Dunno. Anyway, Onionsan really hit the softy side of the scale. His cousin, this guy was HUGE apparently, and you never wanted to get on his bad side ’cuz he was pretty grumpy, and he was super STRONG. You never knew what he might do if he was mad at you. Took down whole ships by himself. Just wrapped his huge tentacles around the thing and smashed it to bits! Alphys wonders if that’s part of the reason why we got stuck down here in the first place. According to the books from the dump, humans just think he’s a myth now. They call him Kraken or something.”

What does this have to do with the waterfall? Queried Chara.

 _Dunno._ Frisk opened her mouth. “What does this have to do with the waterfall?”

“Oh yeah, right. Well some people think that during one of the times when he got _REALLY_ mad he started hurling boulders around, and some hit Mt. Ebott.”

We aren’t _that_ close to the ocean! Chara interjected incredulously.  He couldn’t have been in the ocean when he threw those boulders. 

“…Cracked it open in a couple of places, but one of the boulders dropped back into the water,” Undyne continued, oblivious to Chara. “Made a huge splash, maybe even one of those tsunami-”

“ _Tsunami_ ,” Frisk interjected, not pronouncing the first letter. “The T is silent, so it’s really pronounced ‘sunami’.”

“Okay, tsunami,” Undyne repeated, this time not pronouncing the T. “So the kraken guy might have made one of those, and the water poured through the cracks in the mountain and made a bunch of rivers and waterfalls and stuff. It’s a shame that guy didn’t live ’till the war, maybe we would’ve won.”

Maybe he was part of the reason the war started, mused Chara,  if he really did destroy whole ships like Kraken.

Walking northward, Frisk found herself in a dry cave with only a piano and a rune with somewhat vague instructions. Ignoring the writing, the girl made a beeline for the piano.

Do you mind if I play something? Chara asked.

 _Go ahead,_ Frisk instantly replied, _I don’t really know how to play anything anyway._

Assuming full command of Frisk’s body, Chara closed her eyes and searched old memories for the songs she had once learned to play. She glanced down at the bottom of the piano.

“Ugh, this doesn’t even have pedals! Oh well, I can’t use them standing up very well anyway.”

Another minute of concentration and Chara began to play.

 _Heyyy, I know that one!_ Frisk exclaimed. _It’s what Undyne’s always playing when we come for Papyrus’ cooking lesson, right?_

“Yup, that’s the one.”

The song ended and Chara faltered, fingers hesitantly touching the keys. Taking a deep breath, she started playing a different song. Frisk recognized it immediately; it was the song that the nearby statue’s music box would play if it wasn’t too wet. It was a nice statue, one that really didn’t deserve to be in the middle of nowhere, rain constantly beating down on its hunched frame, the stone worn smooth from who knows how long of sitting under relentless rain that neither noticed nor cared about what it landed on.

For Frisk, the song was a nice, quiet song, perfect for filtering down the long hall, its notes penetrating the endless patter of water hitting the floor. The statue itself gave her something akin to nostalgia as it reminded her of a prince, dead but still alive, unable to feel anything close to a resemblance of love.

For Chara, it was something else.  We- Asriel and I- called it “Memory”, she told Frisk. It was well-named; it brought back a hundred memories in an instant: Chara and Asriel, listening to the song in their room on an old CD player, sometimes on loop, while they did homework or played together. She remembered the song, playing softly in the background when she first broached the subject of her plan with Asriel. He had played it when she was dying; in fact, it had been a recording of _her_ playing it perfectly, made only days before. She had wanted him to have it as a special memento, a reminder of his one-time friend Chara, and had taken pains to get it recorded that week.

But Asriel had never played it except that once, when he knew she was dying.

Toriel had taken it when she left the Capital and the life she had known behind. Every day without fail she played Chara’s version on loop in the red bedroom, and every night she switched it out for the original.

Afterwards, neither Frisk nor Chara could remember who started crying first, or exactly why. Their tears were tears mourning the death of Asriel, the death of Chara, the death of a royal marriage that had once been so close, so loving that it made others sick. They were crying for the dozens of resets that had resulted in nothing and for every time they had watched their friends, who were overjoyed by the broken barrier, knowing that in a matter of hours or minutes it would all be undone and no one would remember, just like every time before. It made their hearts ache for a better ending, a better way to go about trying to save Asriel, but they hadn’t found one yet.

And some days, it was hard to keep going without an end in sight, at least, not the end they wanted. They were looking for an end that didn’t have Frisk barely holding back tears while she watched and talked to monster after monster, each as excited for the Surface as the one before it, each hopeful for a new life Frisk knew they wouldn’t have, each ready to dance for joy because they would see the Sun, the Sun they wouldn’t remember seeing in just a few minutes, if they even saw it before it seemed hardly more than a myth to them, thousands and thousands of monsters who had been born down here, in the prison they should never have been forced into in the first place, who only knew about it from old books taken from the dump and from the few ancient monsters who still remembered what it was like to have the sun in your eyes or to stand at the edge of the ocean to watch the sunrise. Even to them it seemed like a hundred lifetimes ago, and some memories were fading or all but gone.

Neither Frisk nor Chara realized they had company until a loud “hOI!!!” interrupted their crying.

Frisk jumped, whipped her head to the right to see a Temmie looking back at her.

“i’m tEMMIE!!” it announced. “awwAwa, human is crying?”

“Oh, hi…” Frisk mumbled, wiping her eyes and finally taking note of her surroundings again. She was sitting against the wall beside the piano, hugging her knees. She looked around to see Shyren watching from the corner across from her and a Woshua standing a few feet away from Frisk. The door to the artifact room was open also, though she didn’t remember it opening.

“is human oKAY?”

Frisk shrugged and looked at the ground.

The Temmie muttered something unintelligible, clearly dissatisfied with the answer. “why is human crying?” it inquired, a little quieter this time.

Frisk hugged her knees. “I-” She inhaled deeply. “I promised something kinda impossible, and I’ve been trying to do it, b-but…” The sentence trailed off and was replaced with a new thought. “A-and, promises- promises are things you have to keep.”

Temmie nodded. “tem know ’bout promises.”

“S-so I k-keep trying, but I- Everything I t-try keeps not working, a-and-” the human hugged her knees tighter, trying to hold back her tears. “I w-want it to work _so much_ , and I’m r-really _trying_ , and-” She stopped trying to explain and leaned against the blue wall, crying.

Shyren moved closer, humming quietly. Temmie walked over and leaned its body against the human’s, vibrating gently. Woshua, too, approached. “Wosh u face,” it said in a kinder tone than most Woshuas would use, and sprayed green droplets of water at Frisk. It felt nice. Soothing. Comforting, maybe.

The monsters didn’t seem to be in a hurry to go anywhere, so Frisk just sat there, letting her tears flow until they were gone, surrounded by Shyren, Woshua, and Temmie.

When Frisk was finally ready to continue her journey, the Temmie insisted on escorting her to Temmie Village. (“wil show u da TEM SHOP!!!”) A few minutes later, they were walking along barely visible paths “dat go STRAIGHT to da TEM VILLAGE!! yaYA!”

The Temmie had not been lying; the path, although sometimes twisting and turning for unclear reasons, did lead straight to the Village.

After being showered with Temmie Flakes and buying a few, Frisk thanked the Temmies and left. She should keep going.

Another confrontation with Undyne, the Echo Flowers’ continuation of their old repeated conversation, and a final ancient rune, speaking of a prophecy. Then, a bridge.

The bridge was old, but still as sturdy as the day it had been completed, which had been a long time ago. It was quite possibly the same bridge that the monsters had constructed when they began to spread out from being crammed in the back of the cavern. Even when Asgore walked across it it barely shook; it had to be strong, for if it broke under a monster’s weight they would be wounded badly, if not mortally, from the drop.

That was why Monster Kid’s fall was so dangerous. It was a long way to fall, and a kid like him would never recover.

“Help! I tripped!”

The words were barely out of his mouth before Frisk ran forward, arms outstretched to help him up. She stumbled, her foot catching the same place that the kid’s had, and she pitched off the bridge with a yelp.

Scrabbling wildly, her hands managed to grip onto the bridge, one arm on either side of the monster’s, but her fall had jostled his grip loose. He squealed, locked his legs around one of hers, and closed his eyes.

The added weight was too much for Frisk, who felt her hold starting to slip.

“Undyne!” Chara shrieked, momentarily controlling Frisk’s mouth. “Help!” The girl’s grasp was nearly gone. “I’m falling! He’ll get hurt!”

To her credit, Undyne didn’t hesitate. She ran, booted feet making heavy thuds on the bridge, and grabbed the first thing she saw - Monster Kid’s spikes - ignoring his wail of pain.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhh!!!!” he cried, but he wrapped his tail around her free arm as they plummeted off the bridge. Frisk gripped the young monster tightly, hoping she wouldn’t land on him.

Frisk was soaked. Her head hurt. Scratch that; everything hurt. She opened her eyes and was greeted with a “Yo!” Carefully she pushed herself into a sitting position.

“You’re awake! Man, I was getting worried!”

Monster Kid was beside her. “Are you okay?”

She blinked; her head was spinning; maybe she had a concussion. “Um… I’ll probably be fine. You okay? Actually…” Fishing around, she found a Sea Tea, opened it, and held it out to him. “Here, you could probably use this.”

He grabbed it with his tail. “Thanks, dude!” Taking a swig, he glanced to her left. “Yo, do you think Undyne’s gonna be okay? I kinda fell on top of her.”

Frisk turned to see Undyne lying unconscious beside her, half in and half out of the water. She didn’t look too good.

 _What do you think, Chara?_ Frisk asked.

Hmm… I don’t think she’ll fall down. 

Undyne stirred, her eye cracked open, and she bolted upright. A half-formed snarl melted into a wince.

Do you still have the pie? I think that one heals the most. 

After hundreds of fights and wounds, Frisk and Chara had gotten a good idea of how much each item healed.

_Yeah, I think I do._

Frisk held out the slice of pie to Undyne. “You should eat something to get your health up.”

“You really think I’m gonna accept something from YOU!?” Undyne snarled.

Frisk crossed her arms. “You’re not in any condition to fight, so if you wanna fight you should at least eat _some_ thing.” She dropped it into the monster’s lap before she could react. “It’s not poison; I didn’t even make it.”

The girl got to her feet a little unsteadily.

“Yo, you should eat too!” Monster Kid exclaimed to Frisk. He held out his half-finished Sea Tea to Frisk. “You want the rest?” 

She produced a second Sea Tea and shook her head. “I’ve got another.” Leaning against the wall, she took a drink. She could feel her shoulders relaxing and her head clearing. That was better.

Undyne stood with a clank, dumping the pie onto the ground. Frisk picked it up and brushed it off.

Undyne turned her attention to Monster Kid. “You should go home, kid. Your parents are worried sick about you.” She pointed up the path. “You’ll come out near Gerson’s shop. Ask him for directions if you need help.”

The kid nodded. “Y-yeah, you’re right.” He looked at Frisk. “Yo, are you gonna be okay?”

Frisk shrugged. “I think so.”

“Later, dude!” He scampered off.

When Undyne couldn’t hear him, she wheeled on Frisk. “This wasn’t where I was planning to fight, but it’ll do.” A spear materialized in one hand and a shield in the other. The spear seemed to flicker, like a candle on its last legs. The shield looked like it would blow away if there was any wind. Undyne tossed the shield to her enemy, who caught it carefully. Frisk ran up, tapping the shield against the spearpoint. They both shattered instantly.

But she stepped back and held out the pie again. “Seriously, you gotta eat to get your energy back!”

Reluctantly, Undyne took it and stared suspiciously at it for a long moment. She turned her stare on Frisk, who smiled. “I bet you’ve never had this kind of pie before!” Undyne sniffed it, frown deepening, but she took a tiny bite. Her head whipped up.

“Where did you get this pie?” she growled, but she couldn’t keep all the shock out of her voice. She stalked closer. “I would recognize it _any_ where, even if I’ve only had it once or twice. Asgore tries, but he can’t make it the way _she_ does.”

Now it was Frisk’s turn to be surprised. “Wait, you’ve had it before!?”

The pie was finished in two bites, and Undyne summoned a spear again. It was normal. She glared at it for a long moment, scowling, before hurling the spear into the wall beside Frisk and stomping off.

When Undyne had woken, everything came flooding back to her. Monster Kid had tripped, just as she had stepped onto the bridge. She had hesitated, afraid that if she went to help, the human would attack her while she was vulnerable. But the human hadn’t seemed to have the same qualms; she had run forward, arms outstretched to help, only to trip over the same board the kid had.

What had startled Undyne most was that the girl had called to _her_ for help, not because she would get hurt, necessarily, but because Monster Kid would get hurt.

Undyne hadn’t hesitated then. Throwing caution to the wind, she ran to them and grabbed Monster Kid just before they all tumbled downward. She remembered twisting in a desperate effort to be the first to land; she could survive the impact; Monster Kid couldn’t. The last thing she remembered was hoping the human wouldn’t kill him.

Then, she had woken up. For a split second she wondered why she was wet. Suddenly, she sat up, remembering. The kid; where was he? Had the human…?

A pounding headache made her vision swim. She heard footsteps first. Her vision cleared and she saw the human, standing before her, holding out… pie?

“You should eat something to get your health up,” she said. She looked… concerned. Concerned for Undyne? That couldn’t be right.

“You really think I’m gonna accept something from YOU!?” Undyne snarled, more of a reaction than anything. She was surprised to hear the human talking about food raising a monster’s health, but she didn’t show it. She tried not to wince again, now feeling her other injuries. Somebody must have landed hard on her chest to crack the breastplate like that. Her dead eye might be leaking dust, and the ear on that side was ringing. But Monster Kid was alive, so it had been worth it.

The human wasn’t pleased with Undyne’s answer. “You’re not in any condition to fight, so if you wanna fight you should at least eat _some_ thing.” She dropped it into Undyne’s lap. “It’s not poison; I didn’t even make it.” She was watching Undyne like a worried hawk, but one that was worried about something other than her own safety.

“Yo, you should eat too!” Monster Kid told the human. Undyne couldn’t explain the relief she felt at seeing him alive, and by the looks of it, in pretty good health. Where had he gotten that Sea Tea? Her instincts screamed at her to get the monster away from the human, who had produced another Sea Tea and shook her head.

“I’ve got another.” Leaning against the wall, she took a drink.

Undyne stood, ignoring the pie. The kid needed to get out of here as quickly as possible. She turned to him. “You should go home, kid. Your parents are worried sick about you.” She pointed up the path. “You’ll come out near Gerson’s shop. Ask him for directions if you need help.” She had a threefold reason for sending him away. It was true, his parents were anxious about him. It was also true that she couldn’t trust the human, and if the girl moved fast enough, she could probably kill him before Undyne could react. Plus, Undyne didn’t want to have him watch his “friend” die.

Much to Undyne’s relief, Monster Kid agreed without question and left.

Finally, she could fight. She wheeled on her enemy. “This wasn’t where I was planning to fight, but it’ll do.” Under normal circumstances, she would have been itching to fight, but this time… Even making a single spear and shield hurt. Her head swam. Maybe she was more injured than she thought. But she couldn’t rest; warriors never rest. So she gave the shield to the human, who promptly ran up and tapped it against the spear. They both shattered instantly. Undyne winced inwardly and braced herself for the girl’s first - and probably last - attack.

But instead of attacking, she held out the pie again. “Seriously, you gotta eat to get your energy back!”

Hesitantly, Undyne took it and inspected it suspiciously, resisting the urge to take a bite. It definitely _looked_ like monster food. The human wouldn’t have been able to make it, right? Maybe she just bought it somewhere. Undyne glanced at the human, looking for any sign that this was a trick. But the human’s smile _seemed_ genuine. Undyne sniffed the pie. It smelled like butterscotch pie, but… different. She took a tiny bite. Her head whipped up. She knew exactly what it was.

“Where did you get this pie?” Undyne demanded, but she knew she sounded more shocked than gruff. She stalked forward. Nobody had ever had evidence that Toriel was dead, and soon after she left, the Ruins door had been locked from the inside. “I would recognize it _any_ where, even if I’ve only had it once or twice. Asgore tries, but he can’t make it the way _she_ does.” Her headache wasn’t gone, but it had already been reduced to bearable from almost overpowering. She wolfed down the pie, every fiber in her body relaxing to normal. Her breastplate was repaired, her head felt fine, and her ear wasn’t ringing anymore. Nor was she aching all over. Undyne summoned a spear again. It was perfectly normal.

How easy it would be to hurl it at the human and get this over with. It would only take one spear, and then they would be free! They were even in a dead-end; the girl couldn’t run, and the water would probably hinder her dodging.

But… she had just helped her, giving Undyne the pie that she could probably have used on herself. She clearly had had an idea of its healing qualities, and she certainly hadn’t gotten off scot-free herself. Even with the Sea Tea, she was favoring one leg, and she still had a good-sized bump on her head.

Undyne stared at her spear, scowling, then hurled it into the wall beside her enemy and stomped off. How she wished she could have thrown it a little to the left, be bringing the final soul to Asgore, and be looking at real stars tonight.

But every time she would look at those stars, she wouldn’t remember the lengths she had gone to to track the human through all of Waterfall; she would remember how the girl had given her something to get her back to full health, not willing to fight someone who really wasn’t able to fight, and the only thanks Undyne had given was to turn on her and stab her through the chest with a spear that she wouldn’t have been able to make without the human’s… kindness? Generosity? When she looked at those pinpricks of light, she would see reflected in them the picture of a girl whose name she hadn’t wanted to know holding out a slice of Queen Toriel’s pie, a worried, insistent look on her face. Then Undyne would see the same girl, pinned to the wall with spears, a look of shock and betrayal replacing the tentative hope and trust that had been there a moment earlier as her life quickly ebbed from her body.

And if the girl dodged the first spear, Undyne’s guilt would only grow, conscience scolding her for fighting the one who had helped her, and there would be no way for her, the Head of the Royal Guard, to abandon the fight without being a traitor. Though maybe she was being a traitor already by not fighting in the first place.

  
  


A little later, after a real and fair fight with the girl, and after she showed up with Papyrus for some cooking, Undyne’s house did more than catch on fire. A few minutes after its occupants had gotten outside, it exploded. Undyne grabbed Frisk and ran a little ways from the blast zone and out of harm’s way. When things were quiet, they walked back to view the wreckage. Undyne stared at what was once her house, grinning. “I’ve burned my house down before, but never exploded it!” She turned to Frisk. “Don’t worry about it, kid. I’d have to rebuild it even if it didn’t explode. For now I’ll just go hang with Papyrus. So if you ever need me, just give Papyrus a ring, ok? Since we're in the same spot, I'll be able to talk too! Well, see ya later, punk!!”


	6. The First Promise

Frisk lay on her back, looking up at hundreds of stars. The others had left, the sun had set, and she was alone in a soft, mossy area a few feet from the path. The air was pleasantly warm, a faint breeze ruffling her hair. She should probably get up and start over, but her legs were heavier than lead and she could barely keep her eyes open. Maybe this time she would get a little sleep before she reset.

In this timeline, Asgore had been the last to talk to her. He had expressed thanks for her willingness to be the monsters’ ambassador and of his personal desire to see the day when monsterkind and humankind lived in harmony.

Frisk had nodded; tried to smile. “I- think that would be nice.” He had offered to walk her down the mountain, but she had refused. “I’d like to stay up here for a bit, if that’s alright.” Asgore had started to say something, caught himself, and had instead something to the effect of “Call if you need any help.” 

Later, after the King had left, Frisk had walked back to the barrier cavern. There, as always, stood the only sentient flower she had ever seen. Its normal smile was missing, replaced with a semi-neutral, semi-concerned face. He didn’t meet her gaze.

“Hi.” The voice wasn’t monotone, but it sounded flat. Exhausted. Defeated.

“Hi Asriel.” Frisk’s voice was no livelier than his. She just stood there. Waited.

A wry smile flickered onto Flowey’s face. “I know you’ve heard my monologue before, so I’ll skip it this time.” He glanced at her expression for a moment. “Yeah. I actually remember last time. Not completely, but I get the feeling you’ve heard everything I’ve said before.” Another glance. “Sorry. You’re probably pretty bored of it.”

“It’s okay,” she answered. “It’s not always the exact same. And this is new.”

“Okay. I was just gonna say… You don’t need to do this. Seriously. I’ll find things to keep me occupied.” Frisk clearly wasn’t buying it. “Okay, maybe I’ll be as bored as I was before all this,” he admitted, “but you shouldn’t keep doing this. Resetting, I mean. It’s not- It makes everyone happy to be free, right? So - I think I’m repeating myself - but let them be happy.” Flowey hesitated. “And, Chara…? Is it really worth it to destroy Mom and Dad’s freedom and happiness - and everyone else’s - just to try one more time to save me? Everyone is happy right now. Let them stay on the Surface this time. Let Frisk have a future instead of resetting it away again.

“Besides, when you reset, I won’t be like this. I’ll try to kill you again, even if I remember everything. What if I, y’know, actually take your soul next time?”

Frisk bit her lip. “I- It’s not just Chara. I want you back too, Asriel, and I can’t- can’t leave you here. I’m sorry.” She bent down and stroked his petals in a farewell gesture.

The flower watched her leave, walking with her head bowed. She might be crying; he couldn’t tell from here. “See you in the next one, Frisk,” he murmured sadly.

Frisk blinked slowly, letting her mind drift. Why had Flowey remembered the reset? Did that mean others had remembered but hadn’t mentioned it? How many remembered? Did the whole Underground remember? Did other humans remember? What did they think of suddenly going back in time? Was anyone trying to stop it?

Some of the thoughts were worrying, but soon oblivion claimed Frisk, so the questions were forced to leave her alone for the time being.

Frisk woke on a bed of golden flowers, sheet tucked up to her chin the way she liked it. …Sheet? Had Flowey brought her a sheet? She moved her legs, slowly waking up. Flowey wouldn’t have gotten her a sheet. Or a pillow, for that matter. As a matter of fact, it didn’t _feel_ like she was lying on golden flowers. Nor did it smell like them.

A squeaking sound caught Frisk’s attention, and she groggily opened her eyes and rolled over to face it. She hadn’t been here in a long time, but that didn’t stop her from recognizing her room immediately. Why was she in her room?

The door was open a crack, and Toriel peeked in. Their eyes met.

“Oh, you are awake! Good morning, Frisk.” She walked into the room, closing the door behind her, and sat down on the bed. “Are you rested?”

Frisk blinked, head still fuzzy. “How did I get here?”

“We were worried when you didn’t come down, so Undyne went back up Mt. Ebott to find you. You must have fallen asleep up there.” The girl nodded. “Your family was very excited to see you…”

 _Your family…_ As the resets had gone by, Frisk’s homesickness had grown. She’d tried to ignore it, but that only worked for so long. She badly wanted to see them, but if she saw them…

“Frisk? My child, are you alright?”

Frisk blinked. “Huh?”

There was a tap on the door, followed by Papyrus’ attempt at a whisper. “YOUR MAJESTY, IS FRISK AWAKE?” He opened the door before Toriel could answer. His eyes lit up at the sight of both of them sitting on the bed. Nyehing happily, the skeleton ran over to her. “GREETINGS, FRISK!! YOU HAVE BEEN ASLEEP FOR A LONG TIME! WE HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TO WAKE UP! SO, ARE YOU READY TO GET UP AND SEE YOUR FAMILY?”

Frisk bit her lip. In all her resets, she had never descended Mt. Ebott for this specific reason. She loved her family, but she was afraid that if she _saw_ them, actually talked with them, it might weaken her determination to fulfill her promises. She might not keep going, might stop resetting and decide this ending was enough.

Another set of footsteps was coming down the hall.

Still, she hadn’t seen her family in forever. She missed their voices and their faces. It would be really easy to get up and go out to see them. She could hug them, they could hug her, and she could smile genuinely for the first time in too long.

But if she didn’t reset right away, she’d start giving the monsters a future, and it would be harder and harder to tear it away as the days went by. In a month she would look back and ask how she could erase a whole month of their living on the Surface.

The footsteps had reached the door. The girl heard a knock, then her brother’s voice. “Frisk?”

She cried “Ben!” and ran forward, hands outstretched as if to stop him from entering. The doorknob started to turn. Frisk stumbled and squeezed her eyes shut, ignoring the tears that threatened to leak from it as she fell to the floor. The world shattered around her, disappearing into a blackness so dark that Vantablack would make one’s eyes hurt to look at it. The darkness was only for a moment, however, and Frisk knew before her senses told her that she had landed on a patch of golden flowers. They must have broken her fall, but it didn’t matter to her. She curled into a fetal position and let her tears water the plants beneath her. “I’m sorry,” she whispered between sobs, “I wanted to stay. I-I wanted to stay so bad, b-but I can’t. I just c-can’t.”

I’m sorry, Frisk, Chara murmured softly. She wanted to say more, but no words came. She hoped her presence would be enough for now.

  
  


“Howdy!” Flowey smiled at Frisk, his pristine smile sitting perfectly in the middle of his face.

Frisk's still-damp eyes roved his petal-ringed face, looking for any indication that he remembered the reset. “Do- do you, um…”

“Remember the last timeline?” She nodded hopefully. Maybe he was wrong about being different when she reset. His smile turned scornful. “Of course I do, _stupid_. I told you I’d remember! And I don’t care a bit, if you were dumb enough to hope I would. Ugh, once an idiot of the Underground, always an idiot of the Underground!”

Frisk started. “Wait, monsters have the Narnia books down here?”

Flowey stared at her like she was crazy. “What…?”

“You just quoted _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_ ,” she explained. “Aslan said ‘Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia.’ at the end of the book somewhere.”

The flower groaned. “What in the- Fine. Yes, it was a quote from that book. Why does anybody even write that kind of stuff? I mean, I guess it was interesting. For a while. It got predictable, though. Of course Edmund was gonna turn good. That’s how all books work. Besides. Some kids find a world they didn’t know existed and become royalty? Get real.”

“The books weren’t silly; I liked them,” the human retorted indignantly. “Besides, there was some Christian allegory in there, so that was cool.”

Just then, Toriel walked into the room and gasped at the sight of Frisk, though the faintest lines of… worry? creased her brow when she looked at Flowey. Did she remember the reset too? Frisk turned to face her fully and the memory of waking up in her room only minutes ago hit her like a train. The girl bit her lip, desperately trying to block out the homesickness that suddenly threatened to engulf her. It was okay; she was fine; she would see her family soon. All she had to do was save a soulless creature (who would be glad to do nothing but kill her over and over) when he had the power of seven human souls and the magic to go with it, break the barrier, and get a soul for him so that he could feel compassion again, hopefully with the added side effect of getting him his boss monster body back, and then she could go home. Of course, if she wasn’t able to do that, she’d have to start over from the start and do it all over again and again until she could find a way to save him.

Frisk felt like she was watching a beloved movie for the millionth time. No matter how many times she had seen it or how well she knew the ending, her heart still broke at the sad parts and rejoiced at the happy parts.

…Only, this story didn’t have a happy ending. To anyone else, it would be the perfect ending under the circumstances. But to Chara and Frisk, it was a bittersweet ending. They always left with the weight of the Underground’s best-kept secret on their shoulders: Asriel was alive. Asriel was really, truly alive. And he wasn’t leaving. He was staying, staying forever as though trapped in his own world, living always with the knowledge of the happiness so many monsters experienced, the joy he could never feel. He had given it up so that thousands could be free, knowing that in doing so he was forever giving up the ability to have that freedom and life.

Toriel took a step forward. “Child, are you alright?”

It was the same thing she had asked only minutes before in Frisk’s bedroom, and it was the last thing needed to make everything come crashing down. She choked out a sob. Toriel ran forward, arms outstretched. “Are you hurt anywhere? Let me heal you.” Her paws glowed green. “You are shaking; are you sick? You must be scared, poor thing.” Bursting into tears, Frisk ran forward. Toriel lifted the girl and held her to her chest, rocking gently. “There, there,” she murmured consolingly. “It’s alright now. You’re safe.” She stood, walking slowly down the hall to the rest of the Ruins, crooning softly to the crying child in her arms.

When you break the barrier again, if you want to spend a day with your family first before resetting, I don’t mind, Chara spoke in Frisk’s mind. We can take a break for a day.

Frisk almost shook her head before realizing Toriel would notice. _I wish I could._

It’s only one day, right?

_I don’t want to leave the mountain, Chara. I’m afraid that if I go down- If I spend even a day with them, I won’t want to reset. Ever, I mean. I won’t ever want to leave them again. And I might abandon my promises. This is the only way I can make sure I won’t._

Chara didn’t have an answer to that.

Just beyond the spider bake sale, Frisk wiggled in Toriel’s arms, and she set her down.

“Are you alright now, dear?”

The girl shrugged, gaze locked on the floor. She sighed; took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

Toriel was about to ask why when Frisk spun about and bolted, dashing through the next room, passing a trio of Froggits. Toriel called something to her, but she was too busy leaping over spikes to register the words. The girl darted through the next room, jumping more spikes to avoid pressing the colored switches.

The floor thudded with heavy footsteps. Frisk only sped up. Jump the last spikes, down the hallway, turn left, through the leaves - she hoped she wasn’t making _too_ much of a mess for Toriel to clean up - past the barren tree and into the empty house. Her breath was coming in ragged, but she didn’t dare stop. She didn’t want to fight Toriel, and if she sprinted the rest of the way, she might reach Snowdin before Toriel reached her. She stumbled at the bottom of the steps, righted herself, and bolted for the door. She shouldered into it and was relieved that it opened without a hitch. Forcing herself to ignore Toriel’s steadily approaching cries of “My child!” and “Stop!” and “Do not go further, *huff* it is dangerous out there!”, Frisk ran through the doorway, down the final hall, and pushed the door open, staggering into a world of white.

The door closed behind her with a resounding thud just as Toriel reached it. The girl collapsed against it, doubling over as she tried to catch her breath.

“My child?” The monster behind the door sounded as out of breath as Frisk was, and there was definitely a panicked note to her voice.

“I’m sorry,” Frisk repeated. “I can’t stay in the Ruins. I’ll be safe though, I promise.”

“It is too dangerous for you, little one. I will open the door so you can come back, alright?”

“No, I c-can’t,” she repeated, feeling her breath hitch in her throat. “I’m sorry.”

Fearing that Toriel would open the door and take her back by force, she ran into the forest without another thought. Somewhere in the seemingly endless woods she found a mound of sticks, brushed off the snow, and sat, staring at nothing. Why did it have to hurt so much? Was there no easier way to do anything, no better way to go about getting Asriel a soul? Or did she always have to hurt and leave people whom she had grown to love, people who only wanted to help? Was it _really_ best to reset forever until she could give Asriel a soul?

… _Give_ Asriel a soul. If she couldn’t create a new one for him, and she definitely wasn’t going to get another monster to give him theirs (if that was even possible, given that they didn’t last after death), maybe she could just give _her_ soul to Asriel. It was the only way, she realized.

Much more determined and hopeful than when she had sat down, Frisk stood, a faint, genuine smile lighting her face for probably the first time in days. She’d go through the Underground again, save Asriel, and give him her soul. Her promises would be fulfilled and she would never, ever have to reset again.

Chara, too, was hopeful. Frisk giving her soul to Asriel was and had never been her first choice, but with the knowledge that there was no other way, she decided she could be content with that ending. She’d get to talk to Asriel again without having to go through Frisk, apologize for everything, maybe even try to rebuild their relationship if he was willing. She still had a lot of worries and knew it would force old memories to resurface, but she could get through them, one memory at a time.

Frisk travelled through Snowdin with a spring in her step, making sure to have a blast with Papyrus. She wanted him - wanted everyone, really - to have their last memories of her be good memories, and she wanted her last memories of them to be happy too.

In Waterfall she whispered wishes into the echo flowers as she passed, had long conversations with Monster Kid, and bought a bunch of Nice Cream, even though she had filled up on it in Snowdin. She patiently heard everything Onionsan had to say and sat for a long time beside the stone statue, listening to the quiet, almost lonesome melody. Frisk jumped in all the puddles, bought some Temmie flakes, and fed them to their seller and her friends.

In Hotland she passed every confrontation and encounter with Mettaton with flying colors, reaching the MTT-brand can of always-convenient-human-soul-flavor-substitute and later defusing all six bombs in record time. Muffet was pacified in about a minute, since Frisk had remembered to bring a Spider Donut with her when she raced through the Ruins.

In the Core, she chose the “Sage’s Path” and walked the blue-tinted halls until she reached the puzzles, both of which she solved with her eyes closed, just for kicks. She attempted to mimic Mettaton in their final fight, which sent the ratings soaring. He even gave her a couple pointers when he wasn’t actively attacking her.

It wasn’t any easier to fight Asgore this time than it had been any other time, but both children were cheered to know it would be the last time Frisk would ever have to do it.

The fight with Flowey was unique this time, simply because he remembered, if vaguely, what he had done the timeline before, and that she had had his original attacks down to a science. It took all of Frisk’s energy and instincts to reach the end of the battle. After he had scolded and taunted her for refusing to finish him off, he mumbled something about Alphys and a better ending.

The human tramped through the True Lab, meeting amalgamates left and right and offering them her extra Nice Creams, and before she knew it, she was one of the only two people who saw the barrier break and dissolve into nothing. The other one turned to look at her sadly.

“I have to go now, Frisk.”

Frisk hugged him and took a deep breath. “Asriel?” A moment’s pause, then, “I want to give you my soul.”

The goat monster pulled back from her, wide-eyed. “ _WHAT!?_ Give me your- Frisk, you can’t do that!”

She smiled tiredly. “I promised Chara I’d save you, Asriel.”

“But you did! I’m good now, right? I won’t turn bad later?” The last part of the question had an edge of worry.

“I haven’t really stayed around long enough to find out,” she admitted. “You’re still good when I come back here to talk to you, but then I reset.”

“So if I stay good, you don’t need to give me your soul, right?”

The girl looked away. “I promised something else, too. When I climbed the mountain, I promised I’d get myself the happiest ending I could, even if that meant dying and giving up my soul so people could break the barrier.”

“But you already _have_ a happy ending, Frisk!”

She shook her head. “Maybe it’s selfish to say this, but I’m not happy. Neither are you or Chara. I think I can get a happier ending if I give you my soul.”

The boy frowned. “Would, I dunno, half a soul or something work? Or even a tiny bit of a soul, since human souls are so strong?”

Frisk shook her head. “That just killed me. We tried three times with Alphys in the Lab. I don’t think there is another way. There’s no way to make an artificial soul. The only other way for you to keep your body would be if your soul was still around, but it’s gone.”

Asriel looked at his feet. “I- I don’t know if I want to take your soul. I’m afraid-” He reddened under his fur, but he kept going anyway. “Does Chara hate me?”

Let me, Chara muttered, taking control of Frisk. “No! I don’t hate you, Ree!”

His eyes lit up. “Wh- Really?”

“Yes, really, Asriel. If anything, I hate _myself_ for-” she forced herself to keep eye contact with Asriel- “For lying to you and convincing you that I just wanted to break the barrier and nothing else. For even thinking of it in the first place. I know that taking Frisk’s soul is the only way to save you,” she took a deep breath. “But I understand that you probably hate me and never want to talk to me again.”

 _He does NOT hate you and you know it,_ Frisk interjected.

You don’t know that, Chara shot back. “And if that’s how you feel, I will shut up and let you live your life without me.” She was nearly bowled over as Asriel cannoned into her, hugging her like he would never let go. Hugging her like he had right before she ate the buttercups.

“I don’t hate you!” His voice, though muffled, was nearly a shout. “Chara, I missed you! Even when I was Flowey, I missed you so much, I-” He was squeezing so tight Chara could barely breathe, but right now she could think of nothing she would rather be doing. “I thought I’d n-never see you again,” he whispered, lifting his tearstained eyes to smile into hers.

Chara avoided his eyes. “I’m sorry, Ree, I’m so, so- I never should have tried to make you go along with the plan. It was a horrible idea and I know it now. I- I don’t deserve to be forgiven like this, not after I turned my- innocent best friend into- into _Flowey_ just because I was selfish and stubborn.” The words came out bitterly, but both Asriel and Frisk knew the anger was pointed at no one except herself.

Asriel hugged her again. “Chara, it’s okay. You couldn’t know that Alphys was going to bring me back to life as a soulless flower.”

The technically-dead girl set her jaw and looked at her technically-dead brother. “I don’t want you to be a soulless flower anymore. So, please, Ree, take m- Frisk’s soul. We can have a long-delayed happy ending.”

The young monster winced, closed his eyes, and nodded. “I- Okay. If this is the only way…” He bit his lip.

  
  


They found him in the barrier cavern, sitting beside Frisk’s body. Asriel was not crying, but his eyes were wet when they lifted to meet the gaze of six monsters who had recently regained consciousness. He smiled sheepishly at them and broke the stunned silence, glancing back down at the lifeless child beside him. “She gave me her soul so I could be me again.” He laughed weakly. “She’s really determined, y’know?”

Asriel rose to his feet nervously. “Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.” He walked forward awkwardly. “I-”

“ _ASRIEL!?_ ” Toriel’s cry cut off anything he was planning to say. “Is it really- I am not dreaming, am I? This is not all a dream?” She took a few tentative steps forward.

Asriel ran toward her. “Mom! No, no, this is real.” She clearly didn’t believe her eyes, but she closed the distance between them, opening her arms despite her disbelief and he melted into her embrace. The child slumped and closed his eyes, hugging her tightly and burying his head in her robe. “Oh, Mom,” he breathed, tears beginning to fall again, “I didn’t realize how much I missed you.” The robe still smelled like her and New Home, even though she’d been in the Ruins for a few years. Frisk cheered softly in his head. There was a note of relief in her voice; everything was over. She was done. She could rest now and never have to think about saving Asriel again.

Heavy footsteps approached from somewhere behind Toriel cautiously, as though their owner was afraid of frightening away a dream; Asgore was coming.

Asriel turned his head to smile an exhausted smile at his father, pulling away from his mother just enough to hold out one hand to Asgore in an invitation to join in the hug. Asgore hesitated, maintaining a respectful distance from Toriel, but after a moment she nodded, and the three of them - the five of them - were united in one hug. It wouldn’t fix the relationship between Toriel and Asgore, but it was a step forward, a step that filled the children with hope.

After a few minutes, Undyne cleared her throat. “Uh… I guess we’ll go tell people that the barrier’s down and the Prince is back and all that.”

Asriel peeked out between his parents and waved self-consciously at the cluster of monsters who had backed up to give them some privacy. Papyrus waved back enthusiastically.

Asgore smiled gratefully at Undyne. “Thank you, Undyne. That will be of great help.” 

Undyne saluted and strode out of the room, followed by Sans, Papyrus, and Alphys. When they were gone, there was a moment of silence before Asriel laughed nervously. “I have a lot to explain, don’t I.”

Toriel stroked his fur. “You do not have to do it now if you don’t want to, Asriel dear. It can wait until we’re settled on the Surface if you’d like.”

Asriel studied the floor, shoulders drooping. “I’m sorry. For everything.” He ran his toe along a crack in the tile.

“You did nothing wrong, my child.”

He laughed bitterly. “You have _no idea_ , Mom. I’ve killed you. I’ve killed Dad. I’ve killed _everyone_. Over, and over, and over… I’ve killed Frisk. Hundreds of times. Because it was _fun_. Amusing. _Hilarious_ , even. I _wanted_ to take her soul and I tried so many times.

“And somehow she wanted to _give_ me her soul after everything I did to her.” The former flower sighed and shook his head. “I have no idea why she doesn’t hate me.”

Asriel could hear a smile in Frisk’s voice. _I can love because I was loved first,_ she said, as if that was enough to explain why she seemed to have no capacity to hate him after he had killed her possibly thousands of times.

Asgore’s great paw landed on his shoulder. “My son, whatever has happened cannot be undone; much as we would like to undo our mistakes and wrongdoings we can only move forward and try to do better next time.”

Asriel nodded. “I know.”

He could undo his mistakes, but if he reset he’d be back to being a flower, and he wouldn’t have gained anything, not to mention it would erase everything Frisk had worked so hard for. No, for better or for worse he was going to continue. Frisk had given her soul for this; there was no way he was going to abuse the power he had because of her soul.

The child looked up at his parents, smiling faintly. “The stars are amazing up here.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please tell me what you think! I love feedback!
> 
> Chapters will get posted whenever they get finished. In other words, there is no set date when you can expect a new chapter to appear on AO3, but I haven't given up on the story!


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